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By Root 889 0

these flatfish or flounders, it is a question of sorting out the appropriate treatment. The first division comes with firmness – in this, sole and turbot have a supreme advantage since firmness combined with sweetness in fish is the most desirable of qualities. You underline this excellence with the finest sauces. Alternatively, you underline it by doing the least you possibly can so that nothing gets in the way, and serving it with the finest wine, the best bread. I remember the surprise of eating the very best oysters at Wheeler’s in London, oysters in lavish quantities, and being served ‘brown’ bread of such poor quality that one suspected it had come from a plastic packet of sliced bread.

Brill may not be of this high standing, but it is worth fresh and lively treatment. You could also try it with cheese: either bake it and pour a Welsh rabbit over it, or give it the more measured treatment of sole cooked with Parmesan (p. 384). The fillets are good for frying – Alan Davidson gives a delightful Swedish recipe for cooking the fillets this way in butter with a panful of chanterelle (girolle) mushrooms. But then, almost all white fish of second and lower quality is extraordinarily improved when cooked with mushrooms of any kind, even cultivated mushrooms. Try it, too, with samphire sauce*.

HOW TO CHOOSE AND PREPARE BRILL

Brill do not have the slightly diamond outline of the turbot, and they are in general smaller. The dark skin is smooth. Both sides need scaling, which is not the case with turbot.

When you are baking the fish whole, you can also cut through the dark skinned side. With flatfish, this is the equivalent to slashing the plumpest part of a round fish when grilling or baking it. Cut along the lateral line to the bone.

You may like to take the opportunity of easing the flesh a little away from the bone and introducing seasoning and butter. Place the brill down on its slashed side.

BAKED BRILL IN PORTUGUESE STYLE

A pleasant summery dish that depends for success on the quality of the tomatoes.

Serves 4

1 large brill, scaled and cleaned

salt, pepper

70 g (2½ oz) butter

1 large onion, thinly sliced

leaves of 2 sprigs thyme

1 tablespoon chopped parsley

1 bay leaf

125 ml (4 fl oz) dry white wine, preferably Portuguese

3 tomatoes (about 340 g/12 oz), skinned, seeded, coarsely chopped

½ clove garlic, finely chopped

pinch of sugar

Preheat the oven to gas 7, 220 °C (425 °F). Choose a heat- and ovenproof gratin or earthenware dish that accommodates the brill.

Slash down the dark side of the brill, along the central bone and scrape the flesh from the bones on either side to make a pocket. Season it inside and smear in a good tablespoon of butter.

Using a heat-diffuser mat if necessary, put the dish over a low heat and melt just enough butter to cover the base with a thin layer. Add the onion, thyme, parsley and bay leaf, and cook until the onion begins to look transparent and tender, without browning. Lay the brill in the dish, dark side down. Pour over the wine and lay a butter paper (or a buttered greaseproof paper) on top of the fish. When everything is bubbling away, transfer the dish to the oven and leave it there for 10–15 minutes, or until the fish is ready.

Meanwhile, cook the tomato in a generous tablespoon of butter with the garlic, salt, pepper, and a pinch of sugar if the tomatoes need its help. Aim to end with a fresh-tasting, choppy purée of a sauce.

When the fish is ready, stir the remaining butter into the tomato and pour it round the brill, stirring it slightly and as best you can into the juices. Serve with plenty of bread, and the wine that you used for the cooking.

BRILL WITH VERMOUTH

Dry white vermouth is an excellent wine for cooking fish. When the amount of liquid being used is small, its pronounced flavour and concentration gives a better result than dry white wine. Use extra dry Martini, Noilly Prat, or Chambéry.

Serves 6

6 × 125–175 g (4–6 oz) portions brill fillet

salt, pepper

4 tablespoons melted