Pan-Seared Fillet of Brill

Pan-Seared Fillet of Brill with a Warm New Potato, Fennel and Green Bean Salad and Sauce Vierge

This recipe is taken from Mi Casa, the cookbook by local entrepreneur and Chesterfield’s four star Casa Hotel owner, Steve Perez. Serves 4.

Casa Hotel, Cocina at Casa Hotel and Barca Bar at Casa Hotel have all won multiple Chesterfield Food & Drink Awards.

Ingredients

For the main

4 x 150g Brill portions
Olive oil, for cooking and to taste
800g cooked new potatoes
300g cooked green beans
2 bulbs of fennel, cut into wedges and roasted
12 Kalamata olives, quartered
Juice of 1 lemon
Salt and pepper, to season
Unsalted butter, for cooking (optional)
You will also need: A non-stick frying pan

For the Sauce Vierge

Zest of 1 lemon and juice of half 1 orange, segmented and diced
1 tbsp chopped parsley
Half tbsp chopped chives
Half tbsp chopped basil 1 banana shallot, finely diced
25g Lilliput capers
1 vine tomato, skinned, deseeded and diced
100ml olive oil
Salt and pepper, to season

Method

Mix the potatoes, beans, fennel and olives in a bowl and add olive oil and lemon juice to taste. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.

For the sauce, add all the ingredients except salt and pepper together and then season to taste. If you’re going to use it straight away, leave out at room temperature. It will keep in a fridge for at least 3 days, as long as the oil covers all the ingredients.

In a non-stick frying pan over a medium to high heat, add a splash of olive oil. Season the fish fillets with salt and pepper and carefully lay them into the hot oil.

Add a few knobs of butter for colour on the fish and richness (this is optional). The fish will take roughly 2-3 minutes either side, depending on the thickness of the fish.

When cooked, remove the fish from the pan and place on a plate somewhere warm. Stir the salad ingredients into the juices in the pan to warm through.

To serve, split the salad between four warm plates or bowls. Serve the fish next to the salad, spoon over a little of the sauce and serve the remaining sauce in a bowl or jug for your guests to help themselves if they want more.

‘Mi Casa: Spanish-Inspired Recipes from the Heart of Derbyshire’ is available to purchase directly from Casa Hotel.

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