Brown butter-poached halibut with celeriac purée & caper crumbs

• butter↗200g g
• shallot↗1

  finely chopped

• bay leaf↗1
• peppercorns↗4
• skinless, boneless halibut↗2

  fillets, cut from the thick end, about 100-150g/4-5.5oz each

• cavolo nero↗

  kale or spinach, to serve

• butter↗knob of

  (from the amount above)

• celeriac↗300g g

  peeled and cut into bite-sized pieces

• milk↗200ml ml
• double cream↗75ml ml
• butter↗knob of

  (from above)

• fresh breadcrumbs↗4 tbsp tbsp
• capers↗1 heaped tsp tsp

  roughly chopped

• roughly chopped parsley1 tbsp tbsp

Step-by-step instructions

1. 1

   To make the purée, melt a small knob of butter in a saucepan, add the celeriac and cook over a medium-high heat until starting to brown a little, about 5 mins. Pour over the milk and cream, and season well – the celeriac should be just covered, so add more milk if needed. Bring to a simmer, cover and cook for 15 mins or until tender. Drain, reserving the cooking liquid, and transfer to a food processor. Blend until smooth, then sieve into a clean saucepan, pushing the celeriac through with the back of a spoon or spatula. Add a little of the cooking liquid to loosen the purée if needed, and taste for seasoning.

2. 2

   To make the crumbs, heat a small knob of butter in a frying pan, add the breadcrumbs and cook, stirring, until golden brown. Throw in the capers and cook for 30 secs more. Tip into a bowl and leave to cool a little, then stir through the parsley.

3. 3

   Heat oven to 140C/120C fan/gas 2. Gently melt the butter in a small ovenproof saucepan or frying pan, big enough for the fish fillets to fit snugly. Once melted, add the shallot, bay leaf and peppercorns. Keep heating until the butter turns a light brown colour and smells nutty. Leave to cool a little. Gently lower the fish fillets into the warm butter, basting any exposed fish, and transfer to the oven. Cook for 3-4 mins, depending on the thickness of the fish, then turn the fillets over and cook for a further 3-4 mins or until just opaque and feeling firm.

4. 4

   While the fish cooks, reheat the purée and steam the greens. To serve, spoon the purée into the centre of each plate; use the back of the spoon to spread out slightly into a circle. Top with the greens, then carefully place the halibut on top. Drizzle with a little of the poaching butter and scatter with the crumbs.