Pistachio Crusted Turbot with Lemon Tahini Rainbow Chard

Pistachio Crusted Turbot with Lemon Tahini Rainbow Chard

December 1, 2018

Servings: 3-4

Prep: 10 min

Cook: 20 min

Total: 30 min

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A preparation of turbot that really ups the ante! The delicate mild flavor of the turbot gets a boost from a nutty pistachio crust. Adding the chard to the plate is a match made in heaven!

By: A Wholesome New World

Ingredients

• 1 lb of turbot fillets
• 1 cup shelled raw pistachios
• 1 tsp lemon zest
• 1/2 cup flour, for dredging
• 1 TBSP vegetable oil
• 1 TBSP butter
• 2 large rainbow hard bunches, washed
• 1 TBSP Avocado oil
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/3 cup vegetable broth
• Salt to taste
• LEMON TAHINI SAUCE
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1/4 cup tahini
• 2 TBSP lemon juice
• 1 tsp lemon zest, use organic lemon
• 1 tsp garlic salt
• 1/4 - 1/2 cup water
• 1 handful of sesame seeds or my FAVE - Trader Joes Everything but the Bagel Seasoning

Directions

• Step 1 FOR THE CHARD: Prepare your rainbow chard first (or let your partner do this step!). Remove the stems from the chard and chop into small pieces. Coarsely chop the leaves.
• Step 2 Heat the oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add the stems, cumin, and salt and saute until the stems begin to soften – about 5 minutes. Then add the rainbow chard leaves, along with the broth. Stir and cover. Cook about 10 minutes. Check halfway through to see if it still has a little bite. You don’t want mushy stems.
• Step 3 While the chard cooks, make the lemon tahini sauce. Place the garlic, tahini, lemon, garlic salt and 1/4 cup of water to a food processor and blend until combined. Add more water if you want a thinner consistency. You should be able to pour it, but you don’t want it runny. 
• Step 4 FOR THE FISH: Grate the pistachios over a bowl into a fine meal (this step requires the most patience, sorry!). You can also place pistachios and zest in a mini food processor and pulse until nuts are ground – way faster!
• Step 5 Season your turbot fillets on both sides with salt and pepper. Dredge your turbot fillets carefully in flour, then in the pistachio mixture, coating evenly.
• Step 6 Place a non-stick frying pan over a medium heat and add 1 TBSP of vegetable oil. Once the oil is hot, season the turbot fillets and add to the pan, skin-side down. Cook until golden and crisp on the underside, for approximately 3 minutes. Turn the turbot over, add a TBSP of butter and allow the butter to melt and foam. Spoon the foaming butter over the fish and remove from the heat. Leave the fillet in the pan to finish cooking through from the residual heat.  
• Step 7 To plate, add the fish alongside the chard. Sprinkle the chard with sesame seeds and drizzle the chard with tahini sauce. Finish with a squeeze of fresh lemon. 

As much as fun as we had hosting Thanksgiving this year, I’m kind of excited to be cooking something totally unrelated for a change. We were eating, breathing, and sleeping Thanksgiving for weeks before and then eating leftovers for a week + afterwards. My freezer is now stuffed with the remaining leftovers (mainly the 3 kinds of stuffing I made – total overkill!) which should keep us going through the end of winter. So today’s recipe is a welcome departure from all things turkey and starring an entirely different protein – FISH! Namely, Turbot.

Turbot is what I’d call “fancy” fish – you’re more likely to see it on high-end restaurant menus than at your local fish counter. It’s regarded highly in the fish world, it’s practically equivalent to a prized Dover sole. We picked up this particular fish at the Citarella in Greenwich, a gourmet grocery store that’s on a whole other level. We head to Citarella when we’re in the mood for an outing and feeling extra inspired in the kitchen.

The firm white fish has a large flake and a mild, delicate flavor. There’s nothing that quite compare to the quality of this fish (and you’ll definitely pay for that quality!), but you can always substitute with halibut or sole in this recipe. It’s a delicate fish, so pan frying it requires a little extra finesse, but pays off big time – you’re left with a buttery, soft flesh and crispy golden skin. It’s such an excellent fish that it really doesn’t need much in the way of extra seasonings or flavorings, but we still thought a pistachio crust would add such a nice balance to the plate. Not sure why we opted to grate the pistachios to make the crust, totally unnecessary if you have a mini food processor.

The Swiss chard is a recipe we discovered on Tasting Page and have become absolutely obsessed with. It is such a versatile side and I make it frequently. It’s whole 30 and vegan so you can’t go wrong with that! Speaking of whole, what I love most about this recipe (besides that tahini drizzle) is that it uses the whole chard. Most recipes have you discarding the stems, which I find so wasteful, but not this one. It also adds a beautiful pop of color to the pan and the plate.