Pan seared snook fillet with roasted turnip & lavender and sweet pepper & fennel

Down here in Baja Sur we have plenty of snook... which also makes for a great fishery. The catches are few and apart, specially with a fly, but they're BIG.

If you don't have snook handy, halibut, bass, striped bass, grouper will do as well, just leave the skin on.

Start by wrapping peeled and cubed turnips in a piece of foil along with a sprinkle of lavender seeds, S&P and a splash of olive oil. Place them in a medium hot oven until soft( around 25 minutes).

In a skillet saute in olive oil 1 measure each of thinly sliced bell peppers and fennel bulb and 1 measure of diced onion. Add a bit of garlic, a few fennel seeds to boost the flavour and season with S&P .
Once everything is nice and tender, blend the life out of it and add just enough sugar to balance the flavours. Check for salt and reserve.

Once the turnips are tender, in bowl, mash them like they were potatoes,add a liberal amount of room temperature butter (how much? Think Paula Deen....) and whip them nice and fluffy.

Season the fish fillet with S&P, rub a bit of vegetable oil on the skin and place it SKIN SIDE DOWN in a HOT skillet and leave it there undisturbed until you'll see the sides turn milky white.
At this point, flip the fillet over, shut the heat off and let the residual heat in the pan finish the cooking... for a 1 inch thick piece allow around 1 minute for medium... tough to say, so keep your eyes on the fish.
You're done! Assemble it like in the pic, if you like, and maybe serve a little fennel salad next to it

Recipe to come next...

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         Buon Appetito!