This dish, from my Seafood and Grill restaurant, looks amazing and lies out of the kitchen door when we put it on the menu. Brill is at its best in the colder months; it goes without saying that root veg are at their best at this time too. I cook the fish on the bone for optimum flavor. A full-bodied red wine saucetakes the dish to a whole new level.
Yield: 2 Servings
Ingredients
2 brill or petrale sole tranche portions, about 6 ounces each
olive oil for cooking
5 garlic cloves (unpeeled)
2 thyme sprigs
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, diced
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Roasted root vegetables
2 small or 1 large beet, cleaned
¼ cup white wine vinegar
2 carrots, peeled
2 parsnips, peeled
olive oil for cooking
1 red onion, peeled and cut into wedges, root end intact
3 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
1 thyme sprig
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
To serve
1 quantity red wine sauce
1 garlic clove, peeled and minced
2 tablespoons chopped Italian parsley few thyme sprigs
How to make it
- Heat your oven to 425°F. For the roasted vegetables, place the beet in a small pan, add enough water to cover and the wine vinegar, and bring to a simmer. Cook for about 15 minutes until a knife inserted into the beet meets with a little resistance, not until the beet are completely soft. Let cool in the water.
- Peel the beet with a small knife and cut roughly into ½-inch thick circles. Cut the carrots into similar size circles. Quarter the parsnips lengthwise and cut out the woody core. Place the carrots in a pan of salted water and simmer for about 3 minutes until partially cooked, then add the parsnips and cook for another 3 minutes. Drain the vegetables and let cool on a tray.
- Drizzle some olive oil into a roasting tray large enough to hold all the vegetables. Add the red onion wedges, garlic, and thyme and roast in the oven for 5 minutes. Add the parcooked vegetables, season with salt and pepper, and roast for 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, pat the brill dry with paper towels, place in a roasting tray, and drizzle with some olive oil. Season with salt and pepper, add the unpeeled garlic cloves and thyme, and place in the oven. Roast for 5 minutes, then dot the fish with the diced butter and return to the oven for 5 minutes. Baste the fish with the buttery juices and roast for another 3 minutes. Baste the fish again and set aside in a warm place to rest for 5 minutes before serving.
- While the fish is resting, bring the red wine sauce to a boil. Pour the cooking juices from the fish through a strainer into the sauce and bring back to a simmer. Add the chopped garlic and parsley and pour into a warm pitcher ready for serving.
- Lay the brill portions on the roasted vegetables with the roasted garlic cloves and a few thyme sprigs. Serve at once, giving the sauce a stir before pouring it over the fish to redistribute the garlic and parsley.
