flat and fabulous turbot

photo: Marion van Dijk
For years, I would walk past turbot in the fish shop, giving it a sideways look, not convinced about it.

Its soft apricot colour with clinging roe and frilled edges confused me, and I would turn to a fish I was more familiar with.

One day, after endless hounding by my partner, who knew it well from his youth, and feeling emboldened from reading my Rick Stein bible Seafood, I bought a large fillet or two and used Stein's recipe for roasted turbot and sauce vierge.

It was absolutely divine, and now I scour the boards at Guyton's or Collingwood St Fresh Choice, and if I spy turbot, I am in to buy.

Stein has said that turbot is as good as lobster, and went so far as to say on Close Up a few weeks ago while visiting New Zealand that turbot is his favourite fish, and the simpler the better.

He recommends it served with a lemon hollandaise and a few new potatoes. Turbot is a delicate fish but it is also succulent and smooth, and flakes perfectly when cooked. Roasted, it is juicy and tender. The flesh turns white when it is cooked, by the way.

Turbot is a flatfish, and in New Zealand it is from the species Colistium nudipinnis, which differs from European turbot, which comes from the bothidae family.

Despite these differences, turbot in both places tastes very similar.

There are 11 species of flatfish found in New Zealand waters. Most Kiwis are familiar with flounder and sole, and are used to eating them whole. Increasingly, they are also learning about turbot and realising how fabulous it is.

Turbot is considerably bigger than flounder, and is sometimes confused with brill. It grows to about a metre in size with a deep body, twice that of its body length. It lives to a fine old age - around 16 years. It has a low oil content and is high in protein and low in fat, and has moderate amounts of omega 3.

Turbot is found on the west coast of both islands and in some pockets elsewhere, but the commercial harvest is off the West Coast in shallow waters by inshore trawling fleets. Talley's regularly catches turbot, and although it can be caught year-round, the fishing fleet concentrates on other fish for for some months of the year. This explains why turbot isn't always seen in the shops.

Talley's supplies fishmongers, supermarkets, cafes and restaurants throughout New Zealand. In local shops, turbot is almost always seen in fillet form, but Guyton's, for instance, will sell whole fish on request.
Ad Feedback

I thoroughly recommend buying a whole turbot and trying the recipe below. Whole turbot, like most fish cooked whole, has its own special, splendid flavours.

Turbot sells for $14.90 a kilogram whole and $19.90 a kg in fillet form. Whole turbot range from 1kg to larger fish as requested. It can be cooked many different ways and it is always delicious. This recipe is one of the best fish dishes I have ever tasted.

ROASTED TURBOT WITH SAUCE VIERGE
Photo: Marion van Dijk

This is an adaptation of Rick Stein's recipe. I have substituted fillets for turbot steaks and changed the recipe slightly.
Buy two large fillets of turbot (larger is better) or four smaller fillets about 800g in total. This will serve four people.

Combine the following ingredients to rub over the fish:

1 tsp chopped fresh rosemary
2 tsp chopped fresh lemon thyme
1 bay leaf, finely chopped
1 tsp fennel seeds
Lots of freshly ground black pepper
Sea salt

Grind all of this in a mortar and pestle to combine well, and mix with 75ml local extra virgin olive oil. Rub all over the fish and place the fish in a roasting pan. Leave for about 15 minutes while you make the sauce.

SAUCE VIERGE

75ml extra virgin olive oil (try using some Villa Grove lime oil)
2 Tbsp lemon or lime juice
2 tomatoes, preferably Italian plum tomatoes, cut into small dice
8-10 olives, pitted and sliced
2 anchovy fillets, diced
1 clove of garlic, sliced
A handful of parsley
Salt and pepper

Combine all the ingredients except the parsley and simmer gently for 5-10 minutes.

Heat the oven to 220 degrees Celsius. Roast the fish for about 5-8 minutes. The roasting time will depend on the thickness of the fillet. The fish should be just done.

Add the parsley to the sauce and serve the fish with the sauce either on the side or on top. This is delicious with agria mashed potatoes and some wilted spinach.

BRAISED WHOLE TURBOT

Heat the oven to 200deg C.

Season a whole turbot (1kg-1.5kg) with salt and pepper. Place in a roasting dish with just enough water to stop it sticking about 600ml. Braise uncovered for half an hour.

Transfer the fish to a serving tray and carefully remove the top skin. Keep warm. Reduce the cooking liquid to 3-4 Tbsp.

Melt 2-3 Tbsp of butter and add lots of fresh chopped herbs parsley, tarragon and chives are particularly good. Add the reduced cooking liquid. Pour this over the fish and serve immediately.

When the flesh is removed from the top half of the fish, carefully lift off the bones to access the bottom fillets.

Serve with braised leeks and slow-roasted halved tomatoes.

Glorious whitebait

Photo> Marion van Dijk
Whitebait may be bound up in mystique and mythology, but that doesn't mean you can't be adventurous with it.

Whitebait has to be a Kiwi icon. The mere mention of the word conjures up joy for many. Even though whitebait in some form or other is enjoyed in many parts of the world, Kiwis love to lay claim to our whitebait as being superior to those caught in other places.

What people may not know is that whitebait, in New Zealand, are the young of five freshwater native species of the galaxiidae family. They can be caught in rivers throughout the country (although West Coasters believe their whitebait is the finest in the country and, arguably, it could be, given the quantity and quality of the catch).

The species are inanga (galaxias maculates), koaro (galaxias brevipinnis), banded kokopu (galaxias fasciatus), giant kokopu (galaxias argenteus) and shortjaw kokopu (galaxias postvectis). In rivers throughout the country, inanga, koaro and banded kokopu form the majority of the catch, with inanga being the most common.

Whitebait start life as eggs laid in estuary vegetation. When the larvae hatch, they are carried out to sea to spend the winter feeding on small crustaceans before starting their return journey upriver to live in fresh water. This is when the whitebait season starts and fisherfolk come out in droves with either fine-meshed hand-held nets or set nets to line river banks all over the country, dreaming of the catch and their first feed of "bait".

There is an air of mystery and intrigue around catching whitebait. For some reason, people are prepared to lie about their catch and will go to the lengths of using false-bottomed buckets to pretend that their catch is meagre, presumably with the intent of discouraging others from fishing in their part of the river. Asking a whitebaiter about where they fish will be received with an uncomfortable shuffle and a vague reply such as "Oh, up the river".

There is as much debate about the right way to cook whitebait as there is fascination with the small silvery fish. A visit to a down-home Kiwi cafe can have you eating whitebait patties where the taste of the whitebait is lost in flour, eggs, the frying and being slapped between two pieces of white bread. More often than not, the ratio of whitebait to batter has the batter winning.

Most Kiwi cooks swear that whitebait should be cooked as plainly as possible. A good rule of thumb when making patties or fritters is to allow about 100 grams of whitebait to one egg to bind them together and create a form.

The disagreement tends to be over what can or should accompany the whitebait, with many arguing that ingredients such as garlic, chives and parsley detract from the taste.

There is a myriad of recipes for whitebait fritters and whitebait omelettes, all more or less following the egg to whitebait ratio, with some recipes advocating flour and others not, and others suggesting separating the egg yolk from the white and beating the whites until fluffy before adding them to the batter.

We would like to suggest that it is, in fact, not sacrilegious to play around with whitebait, and although the flavour is delicate, there are some great ways to enhance that flavour.

Rather than giving you the traditional whitebait fritter or omelette recipe, we would like to share the following, more adventurous, recipes with you. Try these and make your own decisions.

Whitebait crepes
Serves 4

Photo: Marion van Dijk
This recipe is from author Keri Hulme, an avid and passionate whitebaiter. These crepes are both delicious and filling.

Crepe batter
4 tbsp flour
1 egg
1 cup of milk
pinch of salt
20g butter, melted

Mix ingredients into a smooth batter and pour into a lightly buttered hot pan to evenly coat the pan. Turn once. The crepe should be as thin as possible and evenly browned. Set aside, covered, while you make the filling.

Whitebait filling
400g whitebait
1 tbsp coriander or parsley
1 tsp salt
2 tsp chopped jalapeno pepper

Using 100g of whitebait per crepe (400g), saute the whitebait in 20g of butter for a couple of minutes until the whitebait is translucent and has barely cooked through. Toss through the coriander and jalapeno and salt. Spoon on to crepes and roll up. Pour remaining butter from the pan over crepes and serve.

Wine match: Goose Bay chardonnay.

Whitebait with tomato and caper salsa
Serves 6-8
Adapted from www.fooddownunder.com.

Photo:Marion van Dijk
Salsa
Combine:
1 cup seeded, peeled and diced tomatoes
1 tbsp capers, finely chopped
3 tbsp red onion, finely chopped
2 anchovy fillets, finely chopped
1 tsp lemon zest
1 tbsp chopped parsley
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup olive oil
sherry vinegar or lime juice to taste

Whitebait
500g whitebait
cup of flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp freshly ground pepper
1 tsp paprika

Dredge the whitebait in seasoned flour and saute in clarified butter or vegetable oil until golden and crisp. Drain and then heap in the centre of a plate with a couple of tablespoons of the salsa mixture. Serve immediately with lime segments.

Wine match: Waimea pinot gris.

Sauteed whitebait with fresh asparagus and beurre blanc
Makes 8 entree-size portions
Adapted from www.tvnz.co.nz.

Beurre blanc
50ml white wine
50ml white wine vinegar
1 shallot
8 peppercorns
1 bay leaf
100ml cream
250g butter, cold and cut into small squares
salt and pepper
squeeze of lemon juice

Place the wine and vinegar in a pan. Roughly chop the shallot and add to the liquid with the peppercorns and bay leaf. Place over a medium heat and reduce by three-quarters. Next, add the cream and reduce by half. Cool slightly, then return to a very low heat, whisking in the butter piece by piece until it is all incorporated and silky smooth. Strain through a sieve to remove solids. Season and add the lemon juice.

Steam the asparagus until just tender - do not overcook. Allow 2 to 3 spears of asparagus per person.

Whitebait
400g whitebait
flour for dredging
salt and pepper

Toss the whitebait in the flour and sieve to remove excess flour. Saute in a combination of vegetable oil and butter. Cook for about a minute and then toss and cook on the other side.

Layer the asparagus on the plate followed by a mound of whitebait, then spoon the beurre blanc over the top. Finish with a squeeze of lemon.

Wine match: Waimea Estate classic riesling.

Crab 'em and eat 'em

photo Nelson Mail

Some things you may not know about crabs are that they walk sideways and can be found everywhere in the world. There are somewhere between 5000 to 7000 species of them, depending on which authority on the subject you read. They can be found in all the oceans of the world, as well as in fresh water and even on the land, particularly in tropical regions.

Crab make up 20 per cent of all marine crustaceans caught and farmed worldwide, with well over 1 million tonnes consumed annually.

As a result of their occurrence in so many places, they feature in the cuisine of many countries. Some crab is eaten whole, shell and all, such as soft-shell crab, while for other crab it is the claws and legs that are mainly eaten, along with as much meat as can be extracted under the shell.

Paddle crab is the species found in New Zealand on sandy beaches, estuaries and harbours. They are mostly active at night, when they move to tidal areas to feed. Females moult (hence soft-shell crab) and can mate only when in this state.

Local crab fishermen know how to avoid the moulting crab, as they are soft shelled in different areas at different times.

The crab fishery is managed in New Zealand by strict quotas and, normally, paddle crab is caught using baited traps or pots.

If you love the taste of crab or want to experiment, here is a daring method for catching them without a pot or trap.

Go to a beach such as Rabbit Island, or Torrent Bay or Awaroa in the Abel Tasman, at low tide, especially at a spring tide. Take a bucket and a rake and, with bare feet, walk out in the tide to the point where the sand becomes soft and squelchy under your feet (this may mean being up to the top of your legs in water - you need to have bare feet because you need to be able to feel the texture of the sand).

On reaching sand of the right texture, start raking in front of you. The crab will grab a hold of the rake with its claws. Swiftly lift the rake with crab attached and toss the crab into your bucket. Voila!

Other than this method, you need to rely on Guytons or supermarkets to stock crab for you.

Crab is caught commercially in the Nelson bays area throughout the year. Aqua Fresh (a local company) catches between 18 and 23 tonnes of crab a year and supplies supermarkets throughout New Zealand.

This means that crab could be available to us all in Nelson via our local supermarkets pretty much constantly, except when bad weather affects the catch. So it is up to us as consumers to let our supermarkets know that we want crab - it is there for the taking.

Currently, Nelson suppliers are requesting only limited orders, so our local crab travels around the country.

Other than in the whole, fresh, living form, you can obtain them whole, fresh and cooked, as fresh diced meat, as frozen diced meat and canned.

A crab worth eating will have its legs intact and will feel heavy. When you buy fresh crab, the legs should be moving, and if it is cooked, the legs should not be limp.

Crab is a great source of protein and has lots of omega-3 fatty acids, B vitamins and minerals. So it is well worth mastering the art of extracting the flesh from the shells.

To prepare crab meat, follow these steps. Learning how to do this will make your experience of crab much easier.

• First, kill the crab by either forcing a sharp knife through the indented spot just above the tail flap on its underside - this kills the crab instantly -
  
  or by putting it in boiling water.
• Cook it by boiling it for 10 minutes in a small amount of water. Rinse in cold water.
• Hold the back legs and with the crab facing you, lift the shell off. Then remove the gills.
• To extract the flesh, cut the crab in half with a sharp knife. Separate out the legs, claws and body and carefully extract the meat from each part of the body.

The flesh of the paddle crab is white, crisp, moist and delicious. It combines brilliantly with chilli and there are many recipes for chilli crab.
A recipe follows, along with another peppery version, salt and pepper crab. Crab cakes are also delicious and can be made using either fresh or canned crab.

Crab cakes
Ingredients:
500g of crab meat
1 red or green pepper
1 small red chilli
zest of 1 lime
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup of coconut, freshly grated or dried
1 tbsp of chickpea flour
a handful of chopped coriander or Italian parsley Combine the crab meat, diced peppers, lime zest, coconut, egg, flour and herbs, season with salt and shape into cakes. Chill for an hour to help them keep their shape.

Fry in a little hot oil until they are golden brown. Serve with a sauce made of 200ml of good-quality coconut milk, 3-4 tbsp of sweet chilli sauce, 1 kaffir lime leaf finely chopped, juice from a lime, two tsp of fish sauce and fresh coriander or parsley. Combine all the ingredients and gently simmer until well combined.

Salt and pepper crab
Ingredients:
1 crab per person, for up to six
50g of sea salt
50g of black peppercorns
6 spring onions
1 litre of oil

Pound the salt and pepper together in a mortar until fine.

Kill the crab and then remove the shell and wash thoroughly. Cut into quarters. Heat the oil in a wok until very hot and add the quartered crab. Fry for at least 5 minutes. Remove and drain. Remove the oil from the wok except for a little to refry the crab pieces along with a good spoonful of the salt and pepper mixture and the spring onions chopped finely. Fry until the crab is golden brown. Drain again. Serve with lots of fresh lime juice.

Chilli crab
Ingredients:
4 cloves of garlic
4 hot chillies with the seeds (try using one chipotle chilli in this mix for an extra smoky flavour)
1 red onion
3-4 sprigs of mint
2 tbsp fish sauce
1 crab per person, for up to six

120g of coconut milkIn a food processor, blend the first five ingredients to make a paste. Heat a wok and add 2 tbsp of olive oil, add the paste and stir for a few minutes. Add quartered crab meat (as per the recipe for salt and pepper crab) and stir fry until the crab has turned orange. This will take 6-8 minutes, depending on the size of the crab. Stir in the coconut milk and serve immediately the milk has warmed through.

Titi a la Fleur

For those intrigued by muttonbird but too timid to try it, Elizabeth Latham offers some encouragement to indulge in the pleasures of a deep-south delicacy.

If you enjoy sardines, anchovies and tuna then you will adore muttonbird. If you have been afraid to try it, it's time to take the leap.

It is muttonbird season now and once you know how to cook it, it will be a delicacy that you will embrace.

The English name muttonbird, given to titi, appears to have arisen from early-settler accounts in Norfolk Island where the meat was likened to mutton - not an association I would make, certainly not in terms of taste.

Titi is a bird and therefore has the flesh of a bird but the taste of fish, from the prestigious diet of fish, squid and shrimp-like krill that it feasts on during its migration from the breeding grounds of the southern hemisphere to the feeding grounds of the northern hemisphere and back again.

Titi is a seabird, the sooty shearwater, to be precise - a petrel hunted by humans for thousands of years. The harvesting of them is the domain of Rakiura Maori from Stewart Island. They have the rights to gather titi from the 36 islands known as the Titi islands, near Stewart Island. The season is from April 1 to May 21.

The sooty shearwater population worldwide is estimated at around 50 million (some accounts say 20 million, others 40 to 60 million) and they breed in New Zealand, Australia, South America and South Africa. New Zealand's breeding colony has an estimated five million pairs in 80 breeding colonies. There are claims of a diminishing population from climate change and birds becoming caught in the nets of commercial fishing operations, however the gathering of titi remains an annual ritual in the far south of this country.

Titi is available in retail outlets throughout New Zealand with about 250,000 birds harvested each year.

Young birds are harvested just as they are about to fledge. They are collected from burrows, plucked and often preserved in salt.

Guytons stock titi from the end of April. They sell for about $10 a bird. The birds are brined and will keep in this state for up to a year. The longer they spend in the brine the saltier they are and the longer the preparation time.

If you buy titi soon, you will only need to "wash" them a few times. If you are buying them later in the year you will need to wash them four to five times to get the salt level low enough to enjoy them.

Muttonbird isn't often served in restaurants but there is one place in the country you can go to and find titi regularly on the menu.

If you are lucky enough to be passing through Otago and you want a special treat, stop in Moeraki, a quintessential fishing village on the Pacific coast, and go to Fleur's Place.

Photo:Rob Corlett

Here you can experience cultural tourism at its best and be a guest of the amazing Fleur Sullivan. Fishermen come ashore in their boats right next to the restaurant and Fleur picks the fish only a few hours before it arrives on your plate. She also sources titi and this is her recipe - from her new book, Fleur's Place.

The recipe also explains how to prepare the bird. Later this year Fleur will be at NMIT with her chef, Simon Peacock, to prepare a degustation dinner based on regional seasonal food.

MUTTONBIRD WITH MAORI POTATOES AND SPINACH
2 salted muttonbirds
10 small Maori potatoes (or regular potatoes)
2 handfuls of native NZ spinach (or regular spinach)

• Place the muttonbirds in a large pot and cover with cold water. Slowly bring to the boil and allow to simmer for a couple of minutes.
• Taste the water. If it is overly salty, drain, refill with fresh cold water and repeat the process. The number of times you have to do this will depend on the amount of time the titi have been in brine.
• When the birds pass the salt test, simmer until the leg bone begins to give away from the flesh.
• Remove from the water and cool.
• Boil the potatoes until just tender. Place these in a roasting pan and place the boiled mutton bird on top.
• Grill or roast on a high heat until the skin begins to crisp and the potatoes roast in the mutton bird fat.
• Soften the spinach in the remaining fat just before serving and serve the dish with spinach oil (recipe follows).

SPINACH OIL
1 bunch of spinach, washed
1 bunch of sorrel leaves, washed
100ml sesame oil
500ml of olive oil
1 lemon, juiced

• Salt and pepper In a food processor, place the spinach and sorrel and process until smooth. Drizzle in both oils, add the lemon juice and season. Pass through a sieve and serve surrounding the mutton bird.

PHILLIP'S MUTTONBIRD MASH
This is a recipe that extends the flavour of muttonbird and allows a larger number of people to enjoy the experience. For 4 to 6 people.

500g swedes and potatoes for the mash
1-2 mutton birds

• Prepare the mutton bird as described in the Fleur recipe. Reserve the water from the last boil of the titi. After boiling the bird, open it up so it can be put flat under the grill. Grill until the skin turns golden. Remove the skin from the bird and reserve. When the bird has cooled enough to handle, cut the flesh from the bones and shred into small pieces.
• Meanwhile boil the swede and potato in the water from the titi. When cooked, mash with butter and milk and pepper to taste (you shouldn't need any salt).
• Mix the shredded titi through the mash. Serve on individual plates with watercress tossed in olive oil and lemon juice. Add a little crisp skin to each plate.
• A true entree from Aotearoa New Zealand.