Name: Trumpeter with curry butter and leek
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 60 min
Yield: 4
Ingredients: 8 kipfler potatoes (about 150gm each), peeled; 16 baby (pencil) leeks (see note), washed and thickly sliced; 4 trumpeter fillets (about 180gm each); 2 limes, halved; Curry butter; 2 garlic cloves; 1 tsp ground turmeric; ½ tsp ground fennel seeds; ½ tsp ground cumin; ¼ tsp hot paprika; ¼ tsp coarsely ground black pepper; 80 gm butter, softened

Trumpeter with curry butter and leek

Want foolproof fish every time? The answer is baking it in paper. Add a flavoursome butter - in this case we've gone for a toasty curry butter - and you've got a self-contained meal.

Serves 4

Prep

25M

Cook

35M

Total

The beauty of baked fish in a parcel is that it cooks in its own juices along with whatever other liquid you’ve added – in this case lime juice. Blue-eye trevalla or silver perch make fine substitutes for trumpeter. Serve the parcels for your guests to open at the table.

Ingredients

8 kipfler potatoes (about 150gm each), peeled

16 baby (pencil) leeks (see note), washed and thickly sliced

4 trumpeter fillets (about 180gm each)

2 limes, halved

Curry butter

2 garlic cloves

1 tsp ground turmeric

½ tsp ground fennel seeds

½ tsp ground cumin

¼ tsp hot paprika

¼ tsp coarsely ground black pepper

80 gm butter, softened

Method

1.Place kipflers in a saucepan, cover with cold water and bring to the boil, then cook until a knife can be inserted easily but the potatoes still retain some firmness (8-10 minutes). Remove potatoes and set aside to cool. Blanch leeks in the same water until bright green (2 minutes), then drain and refresh in iced water. Squeeze excess water from leeks and pat dry with paper towels.

2.For the curry butter, crush garlic and a large pinch of salt with a mortar and pestle. Add spices, and pound until finely ground, then add butter, pounding until smooth and combined.

3.Preheat oven to 180C. Place 4 large pieces of baking paper (about 40cm long) on a work surface. Thickly slice kipflers and arrange in rectangles about the size of the fish fillets in the centre of each piece of paper, season with salt and pepper, then top with a fish fillet and a quarter of the curry butter. Squeeze the juice of half a lime over each. Fold long sides of the paper over to enclose the fish, then fold the ends over a few times, tucking them underneath to enclose. Roast on an oven tray until the fish is just flaking (20-25 minutes; you’ll need to unwrap a parcel to check). Serve hot.

If baby leeks are unavailable, blanch the white part of a large leek and thickly slice it.
Drink Suggestion: Spicy pinot gris. Drink suggestion by Max Allen
Notes

The Gourmet Traveller Team

Gourmet Traveller is Australia’s trusted authority on food, travel and luxury lifestyle, bringing the latest news and trends to life through quality journalism, enticing recipes and evocative photography. For more than 55 years, it has been inspiring and informing Australians with the best in cooking, dining, travelling and shopping. Our critics bring the expertise of years of critical eating, drinking and writing to the table. Plus, as the country’s leading title in the luxury sector, Gourmet Traveller works closely with Australia’s leaders in the travel and hospitality industries to give our readers exclusive access. The Gourmet Traveller legacy is one of trust, prestige and relevance.

Styling by Lisa Featherby

Styling by Lynsey Fryers