This is another recipe from one of our demonstrations. In fact, we needed to adapt it on board to use John Dory because turbot was unavailable. Both fish work great in this recipe.
One three-pound turbot
One large papaya
3 tablespoons fish sauce
Juice of one lime
2 jalapenos minced
3 tablespoons of olive oil
One pint of whole milk yogurt
1/2 cup of basil leaves
2 tablespoons of agave nectar
Pinch of salt
Clean the turbot. Use scissors to remove the fins and head. Cut the turbot in half lengthwise and then cut each half in half again. Rinse the pieces of turbot in cold-water then pat dry and reserve in the refrigerator.
Peel the papaya and cut in half. Remove the seeds, rinse them of any pulp and place on a foil lined sheet pan in a 200 degree F oven to dry and become crispy. When dry, coarsely pulverize to resemble cracked pepper. Reserve. Cut the papaya halves in half again lengthwise and trim into rectangles. Season the fruit with the fish sauce and lime juice and place on a sheet pan in the refrigerator.
Place the yogurt in a sieve lined with cheesecloth, in the refrigerator for at least four hours, although overnight would be ideal. Reserve the yogurt water for cooking the fish. Blanch and shock the basil, then puree it with the drained yogurt, agave nectar and salt. Strain the yogurt and reserve in the refrigerator.
Season the turbot with salt and place in a shallow pan large enough to hold the fish. Pour the yogurt water over the fish and cover with plastic wrap. Place the pan in a 200-degree oven for 20 minutes. The fish will be firm but cooked. Let rest for five minutes. While the fish is in the oven, pull the papaya rectangles out of the refrigerator. Strain any juices and mix them with the olive oil and the minced jalapeno. Place in a small pot and warm. Place the papaya in a low oven to warm through. Remove the fish from the pan and peel off the skin. Using a palate knife, remove the fish from its bones. Place a papaya rectangle on each plate and top with the fish. Spoon the vinaigrette over the top. Place a spoonful of the basil yogurt next to the fish and sprinkle with the crushed papaya seeds.
