The Golden Touch
by Lynn Bain

THE WONDERFUL flavours of leeks and saffron combine with the garlicky crunch of potatoes to form a delicious base for poached fish. This is an absolutely scrumptious recipe that serves four.

Ingredients

• 100g butter
• 4 leeks, white part only
• 1 onion, finely sliced
• 4 cloves garlic, finely sliced
• 1/2 teaspoon thyme leaves
• 4 potatoes, peeled
• generous pinch saffron threads
• 1/4 cup white wine
• 1/4 cup vegetable stock
• 4 fillets fish (no bones)
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
• 1 tablespoon thickened cream

Preparation

• Split the leeks into halves horizontally and wash thoroughly. Drain the leek and slice thinly.

• In a heavy-based frypan with a lid, heat the butter over a medium heat. Add the sliced leek, sliced onion, thyme leaves and two of the sliced garlic cloves to the butter. Stir until the leeks and onion start to soften, turn the heat down, pop on the lid and allow to braise for about half an hour. Stir occasionally.

• After about 15 minutes of braising, add the saffron and white wine to the pan. Continue to cook with the lid off until the liquid has reduced slightly. Add the stock to the pan and reduce the heat until the stock is just simmering but not boiling. Cook for about five minutes or so depending on the thickness of your fillets, turning the fillet over halfway through the cooking time.

• While the fish is cooking, cut the potatoes into thick slices. Place the slices into a pot of boiling water and cook for a couple of minutes only. Drain well. This method par cooks the potatoes so they require less time in the frying pan to cook through. This means you don’t have to overcook the outside of the slices.

• When cooked, remove the fish from the pan, place on a plate and cover with foil. Add the cream and chopped parsley to the remaining liquid in the pan and stir.

• Heat the olive oil over a medium heat in a heavy-based frypan. Add the remaining slices of garlic and the potato slices to the pan and cook until the potatoes are golden brown and crunchy. Place the cooked potato slices in a warm oven until you’re ready to serve your fish.

To serve, place a generous bed of the crunchy potatoes on each plate. Top with a fillet of fish and spoon a generous amount of the saffron-flavoured sauce over the top. Sprinkle with a little extra parsley.

I recommend that you accompany this great meal with a McLaren Vale d'Arenberg Marsanne Viogner called The Hermit Crab. A wonderful tasting white wine to compliment a delicious seafood meal.