Serves
Serves 2
You will need a sturdy ovenproof casserole with handles. Le Creuset classic casserole are perfect.
Ingredients
- 2 Gilthead Bream (filleted)
- 100g Basic Tomato Sauce (as you would eat with pasta)
- 150ml Lobster Bisque (fresh if possible. If not, canned or jarred from a good deli / supermarket is fine)
- 25g Black Truffle Butter (if you can’t get hold of this, unsalted butter and a splash of truffle oil will suffice)
- 1 Handful of dried Porcini mushrooms
- 1 Garlic clove – minced
- 3 Stalks of rosemary
- 1 Lemon Fresh herbs of your choosing Bread crust (see recipe below)
Bread Crust
- 300g Strong white flour
- Water (have a jug at the ready so that you can add small quantities at a time)
- Salt to taste
Method
- Season the flesh side of the bream fillets before placing them together (so that the skin is on the outside).
- Put three thinly sliced pieces of lemon on top of the fish followed by a stalk of rosemary. Then secure by tying the fish up with 2-3 pieces of string. Set aside.
- Heat some oil in your casserole and add the garlic, Cook out for a few seconds to take the raw edge off.
- Add in the tomato sauce. If you haven’t got tomato sauce, drain a can of chopped tomatoes of its juice and use the strained tomato flesh instead.
- Cook the tomatoes out for 1-2 minutes and then add the lobster bisque.
- Once the liquid is up to a boil, whisk in the truffle butter.
- Bring back to a simmer and remove from the heat. Check seasoning and add in any herbs to suit your taste. I would recommend a touch of chervil or tarragon as I think the anise flavour works really well. Then add your fish to the pan and remove from the heat. The fish should stand proud of the liquid (i.e. not completely submerged)
- Roll out your bread crust and seal the casserole with the dough ensuring that you have a good amount overlapping around the sides of your casserole. Tuck the dough up through the handles of the casserole to secure it well. Remember to make a small hole in the top to allow the steam to escape
- Return to the heat until you can see a plume of steam coming through the hole in your dough and transfer to a preheated oven (220 degrees) for ten minutes.
- Meanwhile, melt a little butter to brush over the bread crust and finely chop the remaining rosemary
- Remove after the ten minute time has gone and brush generously with the melted butter and return to the oven for a further two minutes
- After the two minutes, remove again and sprinkle the top of the crust with sprigs of rosemary and Maldon salt
- Return to the oven for a final 2 minutes after which, your dish is ready to present to the table
Bread Crust
- Combine the flour with the desired amount of salt then bring together with water into a smooth, malleable dough. It’s as simple as that!