Fish with Turnips
pisces scorpiones rapulatos: cocis in liquamen et oleo et cum mediauerint coctura tolles. rapas elixas madidas et minutissime concisas manibus depressabis ut umorem non habeant et cum pisce obligas et bulliat cum oleo abunde. et cum bulliuerit teres ciminum lauri baca dimidia, addes propter colore crocu. amulabis de oridia propter spissitudinem. superfundes et tunc inferes. addes modicum acetu.
Scorpion fish with turnips: cook the fish in fish sauce and oil, and when they are half cooked take them out. Take boiled turnips, wet and very finely chopped, and press them by hand so they hold no moisture; bind them with the fish and let it boil with plenty of oil. When it has boiled, grind cumin and half a bay berry, and add saffron for color. Thicken with rice starch. Pour over and then serve. Add a little vinegar.
The rice starch that thickens the sauce is a distinctively late-Roman touch.
Ingredients
- 340 g scorpion fish fillets, or other firm, lean white fish fillets
- 30 ml fish sauce
- 45 ml olive oil
- 400 g turnips, peeled and diced
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 2 bay berries, crushed
- 6 threads saffron
- 1 Tb starch, prepared into a slurry
- 30 ml white wine
Method
- Place the turnips in a saucepan and boil until very soft, around 15 minutes. Drain, then mash, then pour into a mesh strainer and press to remove as much water as possible.
- Place the fish fillets in a frying pan along with the fish sauce, 15 ml of the olive oil, and 150 ml water. Gentle heat until the fish fillets go opaque, then remove the fish to a plate, reserving the cooking liquor in a saucepan.
- Wipe the frying pan clean, pour in 30 ml olive oil, and heat. Add the turnip mash and stir to coat, then place the fish on top. Cook for 5 minutes, spooning turnip mash over the fish as it cooks.
- Add the cumin, bay berries, and saffron to the cooking liquor. Gently bring to a simmer then add the starch slurry and cook until thickened.
- Pour the sauce over the fish, splash over a little white wine, and then serve.