TURBOT
Turbot (Psetta maxima) is a delicious flatfish, commonly served at fine restaurants, and obviously, costing more money than many other fish. Turbot is characteristic for its very round circular body, and the typical bony head that stretches itself quite far into the body. Another typical turbot thing are the small spikes that are distributed all over its skin. The color of a turbot is grey-brown-black, while the bellyside is white, sometimes with some brown spots. Turbot is living on the bottom of a sea, often near the coasts, usually on sandy or stone sediments. It can reach a weight of about 25 kg/50 lb but the usual catch is not more than 2 kg/4 lb. There is a cool video of a turbot laying side by side of a bigger halibut on the bottom of a sea here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qsl2LZwWGTc
Turbot season is in the cold months of the year, and the fish is usually caught by trawling. This fish is really delicious when it's right in season, as it has a firm white flesh that tastes delicately good. People say that the best part of the fish is the one that is just close to the fins. Turbot is able to eat not only other fish but also mussels or some other smaller shellfish. Therefore, it tastes a little like shellfish (however not as much as a wolffish does). The spawning of new turbots is initiated after the pairing 'games' during late spring, when the specimens that are ready to play (above 5 years of age) seek themselves towards the shallower waters. This is the time when turbot is not at its best, so be patient and wait until late fall to get the best out of the fish.
Turbot can be cooked using the traditional fish cooking methods, but is arguably best when pan-fried with a touch of butter. A normal sized fillet takes just a few minutes to pan fry, check for flakiness and firmness of the flesh as well as how the opacity changes with time of cooking. Fry on relatively high heat. You can also bake turbot or steam it if you opt for a less-fat alternative, and turbot en papilotte with some nice vegetables and white wine is one fine option to grasp. If you happen to have a turbot recipe, but cannot find a turbot in your shop (they are imported to USA from Europe, and are usually frozen!) you can try to substitute it with some other fine flat fish, e.g. sole or halibut. I still think though that everyone should make some extra effort to get a taste of this fine fish from time to time.
Finally here are some ideas on which foods go well together with turbot. As mentioned above, butter is a rich and perfect partner for this flatfish. You can also go with a butter sauce, like hollandaise. To add more flavor to the fish, although keep in mind to not add too much (since it's a delicately flavored fish), you can use capers, chives, leeks, parsley, and white wine. Lemon is also a classic when it comes to fish, so try it with turbot as well. Also, shallots, tomatoes, mustard, and anchovies or sardines can be added to turbot. The choice of combinations is all yours. You can for example flavor a butter sauce with some of these ingredients. Be creative and enjoy!