Flavors of FrancePreparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: A little over an hour

Lard d'Arnad
This seasoned pork fat enjoys its own reserved title or appellation d'origine protégée and is made only around the town of Arnad in the Aosta region. To produce it, fatty pork is seasoned with salt, water, aromatic herbs and spices. After ageing, the finished product, which may be one of several shapes, will be white with streaks of meat in the upper layer. The inside is pinkish and free of any veining.

The particular flavour of lard d'Arnad is due, among other things, to the diet of the hogs, which are fed on chestnuts, vegetables, flour and whey. Then the lard d'Arnad is enhanced by the addition of local flavors and preserved in brine in chestnut wood barrels, creating a product with an absolutely unique flavor that even merits its own festival, held each year on the last weekend of August.

Making the licorice jus

1. Sweat the finely chopped shallots in the butter until they colour;
2. deglaze with the white wine; add the veal jus and the two crushed sticks of licorice; leave to infuse and then strain.

Making the Infused Milk

1. Combine all the ingredients in a saucepan; bring to a boil;
2. let infuse, covered, for one hour;
3. pour through a fine strainer without pressing on the solids; correct the seasoning; put into the blender at the last minute to make frothy.

Preparing the Potatoes

1. Wash and peel the potatoes; cut into balls using a Parisian scoop or melon baller;
2. blanch the potato balls, then brown in duck fat;
3. finish with a knob of butter.

Preparing the Turbot

1. Split a stick of licorice in half lengthwise;
2. "lard" each piece of turbot with the licorice; that is, insert the licorice through the flesh;
3. brown both sides of the fish in a skillet with a few drops of olive oil;
4. finish cooking in the oven.

Finishing and presentation

1. Arrange the turbot on top of the browned potatoes;
2. sauce with the licorice jus;
3. emulsify the infused milk in a blender and spoon over the turbot.