Brill is an often underrated fish, which can be served with a variety of brilliant ingredients. Luke Holder's colourful recipe pairs the fish with peas, heirloom tomatoes and a herb sauce, in a concoction which is as fresh as it is tasty.
Lift out the peas and save 4 tbsp of the cooking water to use in the next step. Put a few of the peas back into their pods and set aside
3
Blend the remainder in a thermomix or blender for 6 minutes along with the 4 tbsp of water, pass through a sieve and chill
4
Heat the oven to 90°C. Blanch the kilo of tomatoes in boiling water for 15 seconds then peel but leave the stalks on 8 of them. Slice the remaining and lay in a single layer on baking trays. Add the whole tomatoes. Roast in the pre-heated oven 2 hours
Roll the dough through a pasta machine, starting with seven passes through the fattest setting. Drop the setting and pass the pasta through again. Continue dropping the setting until the pasta is approx 3mm thick
7
Cut into 16 5cm squares with a serrated pasta cutter. Pinch each square in the middle to form the ‘bow-tie’ shape of farfalle
8
Heat the oven to 200°C/gas mark 6. Season the brill then roast for 10 minutes or until cooked
Warm the pea purée and pour some into each bowl. Add some tomatoes, a piece of fish and 4 farfalle. Dress each plate with the herb sauce and finish with some of the whole peas, a pea pod and 2 of the whole tomatoes
Luke Holder comes by his taste for ultra-authentic local cuisine honestly: he's spent large chunks of his career soaking up regional techniques in far-flung parts of the world.
