Plaice with spring vegetables and a butter fondue – by Peter Weeden
Ingredients
(Serves four)
750g plaice fillets
30ml olive oil
Sea salt and pepper
400g fresh peas in pods
400g broad beans in pods
1 cucumber
4 radishes
400g marsh samphire
200g butter
1tbs lemon juice
1tbs fresh fennel, chopped
1tbs fresh parsley, chopped
1tbs fresh chives, chopped
Note: The beauty of samphire is that it really lifts other flavours with its bold, salty, iodine twang.
Method
Leave the skin on the plaice to help keep the fish together. Pan-fry each fillet, fillet side down, in a little olive oil seasoned with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Make sure you get the oil smoking hot to prevent fish from boiling in the pan. Blanch the peas in the pod in very salty water and refresh. Pod, then blanch, broad beans. Refresh and skin. Peel the cucumber, remove seeds, and slice thickly. Slice the radishes fairly thick. Blanch samphire in fresh water. Refresh. Whisk cold butter into seasoned water and lemon juice to make a light butter sauce (make this butter fondue to order). Quickly pass the peas, beans, cucumber and samphire through rapidly boiling water. Drain and put into the butter sauce, then add herbs and radish. Check the seasoning and adjust if necessary. Serve immediately before the vegetables discolour.
by Peter Weeden, head chef, Paternoster Chophouse, London
