I tried out this dish for the first time the other night and it was fan-f**king-tastic. Wow! I would say this is the closest I have got to perfection for a while.
I thought it would be nice to follow up the salsa verde post with a dish that uses it, albeit not quite in its pure form. I would like to take full credit for the recipe, but I have a vague recollection of eating something like it at The Giaconda Dining Room last year. I was plied with several glasses of albarino (albarino, albarino) at the time, hence the hazy memory, but there are a few details which I remember clearly; white fish, lots of herbs, capers and croutons. The croutons were the key to the dish, giving it a wonderfully dynamic texture and providing a perfect contrast to the delicate flesh of the fish.
I have used this as the basic premise and taken it a step further by replacing the simple mix of herbs and capers with a roughly chopped salsa verde and I think it works, well, fan-f**king-tastically. The lentils I added for substance and because they go well with parsley. I found their earthiness well balanced with the tart, citrusy dressing.
The only thing that wasn’t quite right was the fish. The texture of the flesh was spot on; meltingly soft and flaky. However, I would have liked a crispy skin and this is hard to achieve with plaice. I bought plaice because it was the freshest fish on the Sainsbury’s fish counter and wary of buying fish in a supermarket anyway, I always go for the one they say came in that day. Next time I will try it with john dory, bream or seabass, which can have both a crispy skin and tender flesh when cooked right.
I choose to oven roast croutons because I find that less oil is needed and I think it is the best way of to achieve an even colour without burning. You could of course pan fry the croutons instead.
Despite the lengthy recipe, this dish is actually quite quick and easy to make. As is always the case with fish dishes, the only difficulty is getting the timing right so that everything is ready to go when the fish is done. I have tried to communicate the timing as clearly as possible in the recipe.
Serves two as a main course. I hope you enjoy it as much as me.
Ingredients
For the lentils
For the chunky salsa verde
For the croutons
For the fish
Method
Preheat the oven to 180C.
For the lentils
Rinse the lentils and put them in a saucepan with the stock, garlic clove and bay leaf. Bring to the boil and then reduce to a simmer. Cook until tender, this will take about 20 minutes. Drain, stir through the butter and season with salt and pepper.
For the chunky salsa verde
Roughly chop half the herbs, leaving the other half as whole leaves. Put in a mixing bowl and leave to one side. Mash the anchovy with a fork and add to a separate bowl along with the olive oil, vinegar and lemon juice. Whisk with a fork and season with freshly ground black pepper. Just before serving, give the dressing a quick whisk again, add the capers and toss with the herbs.
For the croutons
Roughly cut the bread into small, thin slices or chunks. Mix the garlic with the olive oil and season with salt. Pour into a roasting tin and toss with the stale bread. Put in the oven for about 6 minutes or until golden brown all over; you may need to take the tin out and toss the bread a few times to achieve this. Leave the croutons in the roasting tin and put them back in the oven for a minute before serving.
For the fish
Cut the plaice fillets in half down the middle so that you have 4 smaller fillets. Heat the olive oil and butter in a large pan over a medium heat. Add the fish flesh side down first and cook for 2 to 3 minutes on each side. Plaice is extremely delicate, so be very careful when turning it and removing it from the pan.
To serve
Just before the fish is ready, distribute the lentils between two plates, toss the warm croutons with the salsa verde and pile most of it on top of the lentils, leaving a small amount to garnish the fish. Arrange the fish on top and finish with the rest of the salsa verde and crouton mix. Serve immediately.
Skip croutons for a gluten-free meal.