Page 67 - Guerin Media Ltd | Active Retirement Ireland Members Annual 2016
P. 67
SECOND PRIZE:
NANCY MCCARTHY’S MERVUE ARA
FILLET OF SOLE MY BEAUTIFUL WIFE WITH MERVUE MASH
Ingredients - Serves 4
600g sole fillets (dover or lemon)
50g butter
Seasoning, salt, pepper, paprika.
25g parsley, (chopped)
25g shallots, (chopped)
100g mushrooms, (sliced)
60ml white wine
60ml fish stock
250ml fish veloute, (white fish sauce)
2 tbspn cream
Lemon juice
1 egg yolk
Mervue Mash
4 Potatoes (1lb or ½ kg) - steam till cooked, then mash
15g Dillisk (fresh) shredded
25g Samphire (marsh) blanched in boiling water for 1
min, then placed in ice cold water
25g Butter.
125ml (1/4 pt.) Milk
Seasoning, nutmeg, pepper, salt.
Method
Preheat oven to 200°C (400°F or Gas Mark 6)
Skin, wash, fold fish fillets. Butter and season an earthenware dish. Sprinkle in mushrooms, shallots, parsley, fish fillets,
fish stock and a squeeze of lemon. Cover the dish with buttered greaseproof paper, Poach gentle in hot oven for 10 min.
Remove the fillets of sole from dish and keep warm. Place cooking liquid and “veloute” white fish sauce in a pot,
reduce to coating consistency. Remove sauce from heat and finish with cream and egg yolk...do not reboil sauce. Check
seasoning.
Mervue Mash
Melt butter in a pot, add dillisk and a little milk, heat for 3min.Then add samphire remainder of the milk, bring to boil.
Add mash potatoes and seasoning, be mindful that both dillisk and samphire can be salty.
To Plate
Place a scoop of Mervue Mash on a warm plate, flatten so 2 fillets can sit on top, coat fish with sauce and place under
a grill to glaze to a golden brown, and enjoy.
Nancy says:
“This dish still lives in my mind as it was the first my late husband prepared for me at home, as I had a very busy house
with 10 children and my husband Johnny worked very hard, long and unsociable hours, as he was a chef. He made me feel
so special when he would come home. Children settled for the night, he would suprise me with a bottle of wine, put me
sitting down with feet up and prepare this meal. He could do stuff to food to get great flavours and presented many dishes
to me in a professional way. We didn’t have a lot, and with no takeaways and the like the little things, thoughtfulness,
meant so much. It would give us the strength to keep going. Sadly Johnny was taking from me suddenly and far too young.”
Darragh says:
“We very often look for exciting new ways to explore the most basic of dishes that we almost take for granted. It is
because of this that we very often get excited over the simplest things which are executed well. The Mervue mash in
this dish is excellent and is testimony to how well we can create an exceptionally tasty dish from the simplest produce.”
Darragh and Derek say: “What is so great about Nancy’s dish is the fact that it utilises two things which are prevalent in
Ireland; spuds and fish. While we can safely state that we all consume enough potatoes we sadly cannot say the same
about fish. When you consider the fact that we are an island with such a rich history of fishing it seems such a shame
that we don’t use more of the fresh produce at our disposal”
www.activeirl.ie Active Retirement Ireland 67
NANCY MCCARTHY’S MERVUE ARA
FILLET OF SOLE MY BEAUTIFUL WIFE WITH MERVUE MASH
Ingredients - Serves 4
600g sole fillets (dover or lemon)
50g butter
Seasoning, salt, pepper, paprika.
25g parsley, (chopped)
25g shallots, (chopped)
100g mushrooms, (sliced)
60ml white wine
60ml fish stock
250ml fish veloute, (white fish sauce)
2 tbspn cream
Lemon juice
1 egg yolk
Mervue Mash
4 Potatoes (1lb or ½ kg) - steam till cooked, then mash
15g Dillisk (fresh) shredded
25g Samphire (marsh) blanched in boiling water for 1
min, then placed in ice cold water
25g Butter.
125ml (1/4 pt.) Milk
Seasoning, nutmeg, pepper, salt.
Method
Preheat oven to 200°C (400°F or Gas Mark 6)
Skin, wash, fold fish fillets. Butter and season an earthenware dish. Sprinkle in mushrooms, shallots, parsley, fish fillets,
fish stock and a squeeze of lemon. Cover the dish with buttered greaseproof paper, Poach gentle in hot oven for 10 min.
Remove the fillets of sole from dish and keep warm. Place cooking liquid and “veloute” white fish sauce in a pot,
reduce to coating consistency. Remove sauce from heat and finish with cream and egg yolk...do not reboil sauce. Check
seasoning.
Mervue Mash
Melt butter in a pot, add dillisk and a little milk, heat for 3min.Then add samphire remainder of the milk, bring to boil.
Add mash potatoes and seasoning, be mindful that both dillisk and samphire can be salty.
To Plate
Place a scoop of Mervue Mash on a warm plate, flatten so 2 fillets can sit on top, coat fish with sauce and place under
a grill to glaze to a golden brown, and enjoy.
Nancy says:
“This dish still lives in my mind as it was the first my late husband prepared for me at home, as I had a very busy house
with 10 children and my husband Johnny worked very hard, long and unsociable hours, as he was a chef. He made me feel
so special when he would come home. Children settled for the night, he would suprise me with a bottle of wine, put me
sitting down with feet up and prepare this meal. He could do stuff to food to get great flavours and presented many dishes
to me in a professional way. We didn’t have a lot, and with no takeaways and the like the little things, thoughtfulness,
meant so much. It would give us the strength to keep going. Sadly Johnny was taking from me suddenly and far too young.”
Darragh says:
“We very often look for exciting new ways to explore the most basic of dishes that we almost take for granted. It is
because of this that we very often get excited over the simplest things which are executed well. The Mervue mash in
this dish is excellent and is testimony to how well we can create an exceptionally tasty dish from the simplest produce.”
Darragh and Derek say: “What is so great about Nancy’s dish is the fact that it utilises two things which are prevalent in
Ireland; spuds and fish. While we can safely state that we all consume enough potatoes we sadly cannot say the same
about fish. When you consider the fact that we are an island with such a rich history of fishing it seems such a shame
that we don’t use more of the fresh produce at our disposal”
www.activeirl.ie Active Retirement Ireland 67
