Nathan Outlaw talks about how best to cook his favourite fish.
Plaice is one of those fish that doesn’t get enough praise. At its best, it is unbeatable in my view. It can handle all sorts of flavours – cider, tarragon, anchovy and onions for instance!
Serves 2
Ingredients
- 1 plaice, at least 1kg, gutted
- 50ml olive oil
- 2 white onions, peeled and finely sliced
- 2 bay leaves
- 200ml dry cider
- Cornish sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Tarragon and anchovy butter:
- 200g unsalted butter, softened
- Bunch of tarragon, leaves only
- 2 shallots, peeled and finely chopped
- 4 salted anchovy fillets, chopped
- To serve:
- Lemon wedges
Method
1. Heat your oven to 220°C/Gas 7.
2. For the flavoured butter, put the softened butter into a bowl. Chop the tarragon and add to the butter with the chopped shallots and anchovies. Mix well until evenly combined and season with pepper, and a little salt, if needed, to taste. Shape the butter into a roll on a sheet of cling film, wrap in the film and twist and tie the ends to seal. Refrigerate to firm up.
3. Put the olive oil, onions and bay leaves in a roasting tray, pour on the cider and cook in the oven for 20 minutes.
4. Season the plaice all over with salt and pepper. Take the roasting tray from the oven and lay the fish on top of the onions. Put the tray back in the oven and cook for 12–15 minutes, or until the plaice is just cooked.
5. Meanwhile, unwrap and slice the butter. To check the fish is cooked, make an incision into the thickest part and see if the flesh is pulling away from the bone.
6. Slice the butter, lay it on top of the fish and pop the tray back into the oven for 2 minutes.
7. Serve the plaice simply with the cider onions and lemon wedges.
Recipe taken from Nathan Outlaw’s Fish Kitchen (Quadrille, £20)
