Two Fish Roast Recipe

Our two fish roast is a show-stopping centrepiece that is so easy yet so impressive. You may have come across a three bird roast as a festive main course, and this two fish roast takes the same idea but reinvents it using the flavours of the sea. Smoky haddock and rich parsley butter are nestled between two salmon tail fillets, resulting in a delicious, self-saucing and stunning roast that is perfect for buffets, dinner parties, or as an alternative Christmas dinner main.

HOW TO MAKE TWO FISH ROAST

Ingredients

• 300g fillet smoked haddock, skinned
• 125g butter, softened
• 5tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 2 x 500g tail-end fillets of salmon, skin on
• 1 lemon, sliced
• 3 large bay leaves

You will need

• butcher’s string

Method

1. Lightly poach the smoked haddock in simmering water for just 5 mins. Remove to kitchen paper to drain off excess water.
2. Mix together the butter and parsley with plenty of seasoning. Cut 5-6 pieces of string around 35cm long – you can trim them later. Lay them out on a board then put one fillet of salmon, skin side down, on top. Jiggle the string so each piece is evenly spaced along the fish.
3. Dot half the parsley butter along the centre of the salmon. Carefully put the haddock on top. Dot the remaining parsley butter along the centre then put the other salmon fillet on top, skin side up.
4. Lay the lemon slices and bay leaves along the top then tie the string. You can now leave the fish covered in the fridge (overnight is fine as long as your salmon is spankingly fresh).
5. Heat the oven to 200C. Put the fish into a shallow ovenproof dish and roast for 45 mins. Serve with the butter sauce. To carve, snip off the string and slice through with a very sharp knife.