What a terrific treat the king of the flatfish, the almighty turbot. This is like lobster a special treat as you pay for the whole fish but a lot of bone is discarded. That’s why I found simple dish Paulie could make so we could really enjoy the true flavour of the meat. Aniseed is one of our favourite flavours whether it’s from star anise, pernod or in this case the bulb itself and tarragon leaves. Because the fish was so big we have ours with just the sliced fennel and lemon but it would also be yummy with new potatoes or veg. This truly is a wonderful simple recipe which has flavour combinations dancing off each other. When I ate the flesh I could taste the tarragon and a lovely subtle hint of lemon. The caramelised fennel was gorgeous it had been infused with the fish juices and the aniseed flavour  was enhanced by the tarragon. What a lucky girl I was, go on treat yourself.
Ingredients
• 1 whole turbot
• 2 fennel bulbs
• 1 lemon
• 1 bunch of tarragon
• 125ml of white wine
• 100 ml fish/veg stock
• cornstarch
• olive oil
• seasoning
Method

1. Preheat oven to 180°C
2. Finely slice the fennel using a sharp knife or mandolin and spread across a baking tray. Drizzle with olive oil and place in the oven for 10 minutes, turning halfway to help cook the fennel through and add a touch of caramelisation
3. Meanwhile, wash the turbot and pat dry with kitchen paper
4. Remove the tray from the oven, pour in the wine and scatter half of the tarragon sprigs over the top. Season well, then place the turbot on top of the fennel. Pick the remaining tarragon leaves from the stalks and scatter them over the fish. Finely slice the lemon, place over the turbot and drizzle with some more olive oil
5. Season well and roast in the oven for 30 minutes, until the flesh is just cooked through and starts to come away from the bone. A lovely, milky liquid should be oozing into the tray
6. Remove fennel and place in oven to keep warm
7. Add some fish or vegetable to stock to the pan juices over the hob heat and whisk so you get the juices of the fish and tarragon
8. Meanwhile remove the skin and fillets off the fish cover with foil and place in oven to keep warm
9. Once the sauce is bubbling add some corn starch to thicken. Pour straight over the fish fillets (you can sieve first if you prefer) and serve with the fennel.