Gratinated Turbot with Vegetables

To prepare the gratinated turbot with vegetables, start by preparing the latter. Wash all the vegetables under cold running water. Then, with your hands, trim the green beans by removing the two ends 1, then cut the green beans in half with a knife or, for a more pleasing appearance, make an oblique cut along the length 2. Next, move on to the zucchini: remove the ends and cut them into oblique slices about 0.8 inches 3.

Now peel the carrots with a peeler 4 or a sharp knife; then cut off the ends and slice the carrots into oblique pieces about 0.8 inches 5. Finally, clean the green cauliflower: peel it with your hands 6.

With a small knife, remove the florets from the cauliflower, cutting where the florets meet the central stem 7 and then split them in half 8. Now that the vegetables are ready, you can take a steamer and fill it halfway with water. Add the bay leaves 9 and heat the water.

When the water is hot, place the steamer basket and pour in the chopped vegetables (10-11); steam the vegetables for 15 minutes. If you don't have a steamer, you can boil the vegetables for 8-10 minutes in a large pot. Once ready, transfer them to a bowl and set them aside 12.

Now proceed to clean the turbot. Rinse the fish under cold running water. Transfer it to a cutting board and make an arched incision behind the gill (on the side covered with dark skin) to remove the guts 13. Then rinse it again under running water. Next, make a cut at the beginning of the tail to remove the skin 14. For this operation, use a knife and a cloth (or paper towel) because the turbot skin is very slippery and tough. Then lift the flap and gently pull the skin away 15.

At this point, you can choose whether to cook the turbot in fillets or whole. In the first case, also remove the skin from the other side, as indicated in the previous steps 16, and with the sharp tip of a knife, cut the flesh to obtain 4 fillets on each side of the fish, leaving the central column intact. If you choose to cook the fish whole, leave the white skin but cut off the fins 17 and the head by making an arched cut from where you removed the guts. Then line a baking tray with parchment paper and place the turbot on it 18.

Then proceed to prepare the ingredients for the breadcrumb mixture: from the loaf of bread 19, take the crumb and cut it into cubes 20 (you can also use stale bread). Then put the crumb in a mixer along with the mix of aromatic herbs: parsley, basil, thyme, rosemary, and mint 21.

Chop all the ingredients. Then add the anchovy fillets, salt, and pepper to taste, and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil 22; activate the mixer again. Finally, squeeze the juice of half a lemon 23 and strain it through a fine mesh strainer 24.

Add the lemon juice directly into the mixer 25 and activate it for the last time, until you obtain a homogeneous mixture. Now brush the surface of the turbot with oil using a brush 26 and sprinkle it with the breadcrumb mixture, spreading it over the entire turbot with a spoon 27. Finish with a drizzle of oil. Now that the turbot is seasoned, bake it in a static oven for 10 minutes at 392°F and then 5 minutes on grill function at 446°F. If using a convection oven, bake for 10 minutes at 374°F.

When the turbot is cooked and the breadcrumb topping is golden, take it out of the oven 28, retrieve the vegetables you set aside, and add chopped parsley with your hands, salt to taste, and a drizzle of oil 29. Then serve your gratinated turbot with vegetables hot! You can serve the turbot on a serving plate accompanied by the vegetables, or for a more "rustic" presentation, leave it in the baking tray and arrange some vegetables around the fish, while serving the rest as a side dish in the bowl 30!