- rock salt, to cover base of a baking tray
- 3 large Maris Piper potatoes
- 100g/3½oz picked crab, white and brown meat
- 2 lime, zest only
- 100g/3½oz plain flour
- ready-made breadcrumbs
- 2 free-range eggs, beaten
- vegetable oil, for deep fat frying
- 6 carrots
- 200g/7oz chestnut mushrooms, chopped into quarters
- knob of butter
- 300g/10½oz baby spinach
- 1 litre/1¾ pint fresh fish stock
- 250g/9oz butter
- 50ml/2fl oz vermouth
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
- dash vegetable oil
- 6 pieces of halibut, skin on
- Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.
- Cover the base of a baking tray with rock salt, put the potatoes on top and bake for one hour.
- Once cooked, allow to cool slightly before splitting the skins and scraping out the soft potato.
- For the vegetables, chop the carrots into large rounds, place in a pan of cold salted water, bring to the boil and boil for 10 minutes. The carrots should be al dente (with a slight bite). Drain well and refresh in a bowl of ice cold water. Drain again once cool.
- To finish the crab and lime croquettes, mix the crab, lime and potatoes. Season and shape into barrel shapes using your hands, place on a plate and put in the fridge to chill and firm up.
- Place the flour and breadcrumbs on separate shallow plates, and prepare a bowl of beaten egg for the egg wash. Once chilled, dip each croquette into the prepared flour, beaten egg then breadcrumbs until completely coated and set aside.
- To make the sauce, heat the fish stock in a pan, and gradually whisk in the butter until thick and glossy. Add the vermouth and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
- For the vegetables, gently fry the mushrooms in a little butter and salt and pepper for around five minutes, or until cooked.
- Stir the baby spinach in with the mushrooms so it just begins to wilt.
- For the fish, heat a dash of vegetable oil and fry the fish in a hot pan, skin-side down. Place in the oven to cook for 5-6 minutes, or until the fish is just cooked.
- Heat some butter in a pan and fry the semi-cooked carrots so that they start to soften around the edges.
- Take the fish out of the oven, cover with foil and allow to rest for five minutes.
- Heat the oil in a deep fat fryer or heavy-based saucepan to 190C/375F. Carefully deep fry the croquettes for around five minutes, or until golden-brown. (CAUTION: hot oil can be dangerous. Do not leave unattended.) Remove the croquettes from the fryer or pan using a slotted spoon and place on a plate lined with kitchen paper.
- To serve, place the spinach and mushrooms on each of six plates and the fish on top.
- Place the carrots around the fish and top with a croquette. Serve with the sauce on the side.