Whole roasted brill with crab, leeks and peas

Ingredients

• 1 whole brill, gutted and trimmed
• 2 dressed crabs, white and brown meat separated
• 4 leeks, finely sliced
• 300g petit pois
• 2 lemons
• 225ml dry white wine
• 125g butter
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• sea salt
• black pepper

Method

Heat the oven to 180°C fan. Put the brill in a large roasting tin, season with salt and pepper and dot with 25g butter. Pour 75ml white wine around the fish.

Roast for about 20–25 minutes, depending on its size and thickness, basting once or twice with the buttery wine from the roasting tin. The fish is ready when the flesh comes easily away from the bone at the thickest part.

While the brill cooks, heat the olive oil and 50g butter in a large frying pan or wide saucepan. Add the leeks and cook gently for about 5 minutes, until soft but not browned.

Add the remaining 150ml white wine and simmer for 2–3 minutes. Stir in the brown crab meat and petit pois and cook for another 2–3 minutes.

Reduce the heat and gently fold through the white crab meat, remaining 50g butter, the finely grated zest of 1 lemon and a generous squeeze of lemon juice. Warm through without boiling and season with black pepper and a little salt if needed.

Remove the brill from the oven and spoon over some of its buttery roasting juices. Serve whole at the table with the warm crab, leek and pea mixture spooned around or alongside it, with the remaining lemon cut into wedges.