Roast Brixham skate wing, samphire and smoked bacon gratin with a sauce ‘Bois Boudran’

Roast Brixham skate wing, samphire and smoked bacon gratin with a sauce ‘Bois Boudran’

Ingredients

Serves 4

Find the freshest skate wings available. We buy our fish from Ian MacGregor at K C Fisheries in Loughton and the skate is supplied direct from Brixham.

For the Gratin

100g samphire

4 smoked bacon rashers

50g of butter

50g of flour

200ml of milk

A bay leaf

Thyme

A clove of garlic

4 potatoes (in 2cm cubes)

Gruyere cheese (grated)

For the Bois Boudran (a tomato vinaigrette)

20g of tomato ketchup

30g of Dijon mustard

5g of Worcester sauce

10 drops of Tabasco

125ml of Olive oil

5g of chopped chives

15g of finely diced shallots

15g of chopped tarragon

Method

For the gratin, melt the butter in a pan and cook the bacon, thyme and garlic until the bacon has a nice colour. Add the potatoes then caramelise until translucent. Add the flour to form a roux, then cook out with the milk, which has been heated and flavoured with the bayleaf. Set aside, allow to cool and add the samphire. Check for seasoning, remembering the saltiness of both the bacon and the samphire. Place in a casserole dish, sprinkle with the grated gruyere and bake until piping hot.

To prepare the Bois Boudran, emulsify all the ingredients with a little warm water. For the skate wings, season and caramelise in a pan until golden, then roast in the oven for 8-12 minutes. Serve all of the above together for a summer supper with plenty of pizzazz.