Cookbook author, Food Network star, and all-around domestic tastemaker Ina Garten was featured in a video on TODAY earlier this summer during a trip to Paris. During one of her food shopping excursions out, she stopped by a fish market, Poissonerie du Bac, where she picked up what she called “her favorite fish in Paris.” The fish in question? Turbot.
If you’ve never had nor seen it, turbot is a thin flatfish that lives in both marine and brackish environments before being caught in northern seas. And if you’re not a marine biologist, that’s okay. Just know it’s one of those goofy-looking kinds of fishes with two eyes on the same side of its head, similar to a flounder. It’s a highly sought-after fish to enjoy, and that’s why Ina Garten makes a point of getting it while she can when she’s in France.
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What Turbot Tastes Like And How It’s Prepared
Turbot is prized primarily for its firm, white flesh, which has a nutty and mildly sweet flavor. One aspect about the fish is that it can be cooked whole in nearly any way you choose: on the grill, in the oven, or pan-fried (provided the fish is small enough to fit). Many French versions include the use of beurre blanc, which is a classic white wine, vinegar, and butter sauce.
Garten in particular likes making mustard roast fish with it, which you can try by following the simple recipe she has posted on her website. Featuring just six ingredients other than the fish, it includes crème fraîche (which you can easily make at home), two types of mustard, shallots, capers, and freshly cracked black pepper. Sop that sauce up with a crackly French baguette, and you’ve got what sounds like a pretty good thing going. All you need is a glass of white wine next to your plate, though I’m sure Ina Garten would be fine if you paired it with a cosmopolitan.
If you’d like to try your hand at cooking turbot yourself, you’ll likely have to head to a specialty seafood market to get some; as it’s not something you can commonly pick up at a major supermarket. It won’t be cheap, either. But hey, at least you can live like Ina Garten without having to purchase a plane ticket to France.
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