Terrific turbot

You don’t often see a large turbot these days. My guess is that the big ones, like most of the lobsters and crabs caught in our waters, go to Spain or France. The specimen which I saw in Paris earlier this year was being cut into fat steaks for sale at 90 euros per kilo, or about £27.50 per pound. Perhaps there is no market in Britain for the king of white fish at this sort of price.

I have in the larder a long, oval fish kettle suitable for salmon, but I wonder whether anyone still uses the diamond-shaped kettle which was designed, probably in the 19th century, to take large flat fish and especially turbot. In France it is called a turbotière and is no doubt still in service in grand kitchens. A 25-pound turbot is not unusual; when cooked it can be simply lifted by the handles of the perforated rack which sits inside the kettle.