Plaice fillets wrapped in lettuce with white wine sauce

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 160C /gas 4.

2. Butter a large baking dish. Next, using a very sharp knife, skin the plaice fillets, inserting the blade of a knife between the skin and the fillet at the tail end, then holding the skin with one hand glide the knife along the skin to remove the fillet.

3. Bring a large pan of water to the boil. Separate the lettuce leaves and drop them into the water for 1 minute. Remove with a slotted spoon and refresh under cold water. Drain well.

4. Put the crabmeat into a bowl. Add the juice and finely grated zest of the lemon and season well with salt and pepper.

5. Lay out 3-4 large lettuce leaves and put a plaice fillet on top. Top with a quarter of the crab meat and another fillet of place to make a sandwich. Wrap the leaves around the fish. Top with more leaves if necessary, to make a neat parcel. Repeat with the remaining fillets, lettuce and crab meat.

6. Put the fish into a large buttered dish and pour in a little water. Cover with buttered paper and cook in the oven for 15 minutes.

7. Meanwhile, put the shallots, bay leaf and white wine into a medium pan. Cook over a high heat for 5 minutes until reduced to about 4-5 tablespoons.

8. Remove the bay leaf. Whisk in the butter a little at a time over a low heat until the sauce is smooth and glossy. Do not allow to boil. Strain into a clean pan and stir in the chives and season well.

9. Put the wrapped fish on a serving plates and serve with the sauce.