Steamed Turbot with Baby Spinach, Thyne & Red Wine

It is not unusual to see shoals of turbot close to the sea walls along the beautiful Brittany coast. This flat fish should be cooked with it's bones for additional flavor. Turbot are simple to prepare and very tasty. You will need - to serve four: 4 x turbot fillets skinned 450g of fresh baby spinach washed 1 pinch nutmeg pinch of sea salt pinch of freshly milled white pepper For the sauce 8 x shallots finely chopped 250ml of red wine 1 x sprig of thyme 300ml fish stock Method Preheat the oven to 205 degrees C Place the shallots, wine, and half the thyme in a pan and cook over a high heat until all the wine is absorbed. Add the fish stock and reduce by two thirds. Place the turbot on a steam pan from 6 to 8 minutes. Just before the fish is cooked, sweat the spinach over a high heat for three minutes. Drain and season with nutmeg, salt and pepper. Season the wine sauce. Serve the turbot on a bed of spinach accompanied with the sauce and a nice glass of Chablis.

Asia and Australia

It's good to be back in France but we had a wonderful time in Singapore and then on to Melbourne and Sydney. We met up with Leonard Low of the Asian Food Channel and plan to coordinate with him in joint food projects in the future. We had the pleasure of learning how to cook Black Pepper Crab and other Singapore classic dishes with the Coriander Leaf Cooking School and plan to offer a French version of this dish to our students right here in Brittany. In Melbourne we met up with Guy Mirabella (author of Eat Ate)in his wonderful shop Ate/cafe, Mount Eliza down in the Mornington Peninsula and shared some stories and recipes. We found to our surprise and delight that we had both worked for Mietta O'Donnell 20 years previously; she was an extraordinary chef and food critic who did so much for the development of fine dining in Australia. Needless to say we met up with lots of relatives and friends as we travelled around but a special thanks must go to Chris and Diana in Singapore who made us feel so very welcome and whose hospitality knows no bounds. We also had the pleasure of spending a few days with Sarsha and her family down in Mornington and participating in her delightful wedding with Christopher. We were also very well received and accommodated by family members of our dear friend and neighbour John Keogh, whose parents, Barry and Francis gave us a wonderful BBQ at their holiday home on Philip Island; his sisters Sue & Marie and brother in Law Mick and family in Mount Eliza accommodated and cooked and made us so very welcome in their homes. Yes we would move to Kangaroo Valley! No we don't understand why anyone would choose to leave Australia! Yes we love Singapore! Yes we did miss Kerrouet and are delighted to be home again! Thank you all so very much!