St Andrews Day Cooking: For the Patron Saint of Fishermen
It’s always frustratingly difficult to choose a dish to cook on St Andrews Day. Essentially you could choose anything iconically Scottish. But having that huge repertoire at our disposal can sometimes make it feel even tougher. Much easier to have a straight forward ‘go to’ dish like the haggis for Burns’ night on 25th January.
Lucky for us and hopefully for you that dilemma can be extinguished with a fish dish that pays homage to St Andrew, the patron saint of Fishermen. Chris Naylor, one of our guest chefs and of ‘Bespoke Catering’ fame, cooked this incredibly tasty Gigha Halibut fish dish in a recent culinary class for our guests. Give it a try and if you don’t eat it, we will!
Gigha Halibut, Red Wine, Celeriac, Apple, Beets, Chard & Wild Mushrooms
Ingredients
150g Gigha Halibut Fillet (need not be from Gigha, West Coast of Scotland, but all the better if it is!)
1x 5cm by 5cm Soft Herb Crust
50g Diced cooked potato
50g Scottish Girolles Mushroom
20g Black Trompettes
1x Shallot Finely Sliced into rings & dress with Chardonnay Vinegar
3x Baby Beets
1x Carrot
Seasonal Greens (i.e Chard)
1x Granny Smith Apple
½ Celeriac
150ml Sherry Vinegar
75g Caster Sugar
Fennel Seeds
1 clove Garlic
Rosemary and Thyme – Fresh preferably
Oil
Wholegrain Mustard
Crème Fraiche/Chopped tarragon to garnish
Method
- First make the soft herb crust, blitz together 350g of sliced white bread, 100g Parsley, 250g softened butter & 175g grated Gruyere cheese. Place on greaseproof paper, use a rolling pin to roll out until 5mm thick, freeze until firm then cut into 5cm x 5cm squares.
- Peel and dice the Celeriac cook in a little butter & water, sprig of thyme, season with salt & pepper. Chop the Apple add this to the Celeriac and cook until tender, puree until smooth. Keep hot until needed.
- To cook the beets, wash and trim tops, place them in a pan with 150ml of sherry vinegar to that add 75g caster sugar, 75ml of water with a few fennel seeds, one clove of garlic, sprig of rosemary & thyme cook for roughly 20min depending on size, peel and dress in virgin oil.
- Peel and cook the carrot in seasoned water until andante, place on the roasting tray with the Halibut
- Rub the Halibut with virgin oil, mustard and top with sautéed Trompettes, then the herb crust bake in a hot oven 200oc until crust turns golden on the edges (12-15min)
- Just before the Halibut comes out of the oven, sauté the potatoes in little butter add the remaining mushrooms, add a spoon full of crème fraiche and chopped tarragon to dress
- Garnish the dish with soft herbs, truffle & red wine reduction
For a chance to cook with Chris, sign up for our newsletter or get in touch with us at info@tastingscotland.com
Happy St Andrews Day!
