1 tsp fennel seeds, lightly toasted and crushed
1 tbsp olive oil
salt and black pepper
5 tbsp/70g unsalted butter
1 small garlic clove, crushed
2 whole trout, gutted and scaled (ask your fishmonger to do this for you) (1½ lb/700g)
½ cup/10g cilantro leaves, finely shredded
Preheat the oven to 475°F.
Put the tomatoes in a medium bowl with the orange zest, orange juice, lime juice, maple syrup, barberries, fennel seeds, oil, ⅛ tsp salt, and a good grind of pepper. Mix, then set aside.
In a small pan, gently warm the butter with the garlic over medium heat until just melted. Arrange the trout on a medium baking sheet, spaced apart. Sprinkle the top, bottom, and cavity of each fish with ¼ tsp salt. Pour the butter mixture all over the trout, making sure it covers both sides as well as the cavity. Roast in the oven for 18–20 minutes, basting once, until the fish is just cooked.
Serve the fish on the baking sheet or arrange on plates, spooning on some of the cooking juices. Stir the cilantro into the salsa and spoon over the fish. Serve with the lime wedges alongside.
Chile fish with tahini
There are very few things, in my book, that aren’t improved by a drizzle of creamy tahini sauce. Here it makes perfect sense, balancing the chile and bringing a welcome creaminess.
I tend to make double the tomato sauce and keep the excess in the fridge for 1 week, or the freezer for 1 month, so you can either make this dish twice or spoon it alongside some grilled chicken or veg. The tahini sauce can be made 3 days ahead and kept in the fridge.
Serves four
1¾ lb/800g halibut (or other firm white fish), either 4 steaks, on the bone, or 4 fillets, skinless and boneless
salt
¼ cup/60ml olive oil
1 or 2 red chiles, chopped crosswise into ¾-inch/2cm chunks, mostly seeded
3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 tsp caraway seeds, plus ¼ tsp, to serve
1 ancho chile, trimmed, seeded and torn into 2-inch/5cm pieces (or 1 tsp sweet smoked paprika)
2 lb 2 oz/1kg plum tomatoes, chopped into ½-inch/1cm dice
¼ cup/50g tomato paste
½ tsp granulated sugar
¼ cup/5g cilantro leaves, roughly chopped, to serve
TAHINI SAUCE
3 tbsp tahini
1 tbsp lemon juice
¼ cup/60 ml water
salt
Lightly season the fish with a rounded ¼ tsp of salt. Set aside.
Put the oil into a large sauté pan with a lid and place over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the red chiles and fry for 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the garlic, caraway seeds, and ancho, and continue to fry for 1 minute, until the garlic is starting to turn golden brown. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, sugar, and ½ tsp salt, then, once boiling, decrease the heat to medium and let simmer for 15 minutes, stirring from time to time, until the sauce is thick. Add the fish, cover the pan, and continue to cook for 10 minutes.
To make the tahini sauce, mix the tahini and lemon juice with the water and ⅛ tsp salt.
When ready to serve, gently lift the fish out of the pan and set aside somewhere warm. If the fish has released a lot of liquid during the cooking and the sauce is runny, increase the heat and let it bubble away quickly until thick. Taste and add salt if needed.
Transfer the fish to a serving dish. Spoon on the sauce, sprinkle with the cilantro, and serve.
Coconut-crusted fish fingers
This makes a welcome change to the fish finger theme for kids who love this alternative. The pepper flakes aren’t too hot but reduce or lose them if they’re going to put anyone off. Thanks to Jamie Kirkaldy for giving Esme the idea to make these.
Serves four
1 lb 2 oz/500g skinless and boneless haddock (or other firm white fish), cut into about 12 pieces, each 1¼ x 4 inches/3 x 10cm
2 tbsp lime juice
¼ cup/60ml coconut cream
salt
7 oz/200g fresh coconut flesh (from 1 medium coconut), coarsely grated (or 2 cups/150g dried unsweetened shredded coconut)
⅓ cup/20g panko breadcrumbs
1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
¼ cup/60g unsalted butter, melted
1 lime, quartered, to serve
Place the fish in a bowl with the lime juice, coconut cream, and ¼ tsp salt. Mix, then leave in the fridge for about 1 hour, to marinate (don’t leave it for much longer than that, as the fish will start to disintegrate). Scrape off and discard as much of the cream as you can from the fish, then set aside.
Place a large frying pan over medium-high heat and, once hot, add the coconut. Dry-fry for 6–7 minutes (or just 2–3 minutes, if using dried), stirring from time to time, until golden. Transfer to a medium shallow bowl and set aside to cool, then mix in the panko, pepper flakes, and ½ tsp salt.
When ready to cook, preheat your broiler to high.
Coating one at a time, dip a piece of fish into the melted butter, followed by the coconut mix. Toss until it is coated on all sides and transfer to a wire rack placed on top of a large parchment-lined baking sheet. Continue with the remaining fish pieces.
Place under the broiler on the center oven rack—otherwise it will burn!—and cook for 5–6 minutes, turning the pieces carefully after 2–3 minutes, until cooked through and golden brown. If the fish is not cooked but the coating is brown and ready, just turn off the broiler and leave in the oven for 2–3 minutes; the fish will cook in the residual heat. Serve with the lime wedges.
Fish cake tacos with mango, lime, and cumin yogurt
Making tacos is a really easy and fun way to feed friends. You can prepare everything well in advance—the fish cake mixture (uncooked), the yogurt, and the onion and mango pickle can all be made a day ahead and kept separate in the fridge—then just hop to the stove 5 minutes before everyone wants to eat, cook the fish cakes, and heat the tortillas. Reheat any leftovers the next day. The dish also works well without the tortillas, if you want to eat with a knife and fork.
Makes twelve tacos, to serve four
15¾ oz/450g plaice fillets (or a similar white fish), skin and pinbones removed, cut into ¾–1¼-inch/2–3cm chunks
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 large egg
1½ tsp cumin seeds, toasted and finely crushed in a pestle and mortar
4 limes: finely zest to get 1 tbsp, then cut into wedges, to serve
salt
1 cup/20g cilantro leaves, finely chopped
½ cup/120g Greek-style yogurt
½ red onion, thinly sliced (½ cup/40g)
½ mango, peeled and julienned (½ cup/100g)
1 red chile, seeded and julienned (1 tbsp)
3 tbsp vegetable oil
12 (6-inch/15cm) corn or flour tortillas, warmed through
Place the fish, garlic, and egg in the large bowl of a food processor with 1 tsp of the cumin seeds, 1 tsp of the lime zest, and ¾ tsp salt. Blitz briefly, just until the fish forms a coarse paste, then transfer to a medium bowl. Add ½ cup of the cilantro, mix, then form into 12 round fish cakes, each weighing about 1½ oz/45g. Refrigerate for at least 15 minutes (and up to 1 day ahead), to firm up.
Put the yogurt, the remaining ½ tsp of the cumin seeds, the remaining lime zest, and ⅛ tsp salt into a small bowl. Mix together and set aside.
In a separate small bowl, combine the onion, mango, and chile and set aside.
Heat the oil in a large nonstick frying pan and place over medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot, add the fish cakes in batches and fry for 2–3 minutes on each side, until golden brown and cooked through. Transfer to a paper towel–lined plate.<
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Serve each taco warm, with 1 fish cake, cut in half, a spoonful of yogurt, and the mango mix. Finish with a sprinkle of the remaining ½ cup of cilantro and a squeeze of lime.
Smoked fish and parsnip cakes
I love to eat these for brunch, topped with a poached egg, but they’re good at any time of the day. If eating them for lunch or supper, try grating some fresh horseradish into sour cream to serve alongside. I’ve allowed for two cakes each, but some people will prefer one, particularly if eating them in the morning topped with an egg. The patties can be made up to 24 hours before serving, up to the point of frying, and kept in the fridge.
Makes twelve cakes, to serve six
6 parsnips, peeled and cut into 1½-inch/4cm chunks (6 cups/600g)
½ cup/120ml olive oil
salt
1–2 tbsp water, as needed
1 lb 3¾ oz/560g smoked cod or haddock fillets, skinless and boneless, chopped into 1½-inch/4cm pieces
1 cup/20g dill, roughly chopped
1 cup/20g chives, roughly chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 lemons: finely zest to get 2 tsp, then cut into wedges, to serve
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
black pepper
3 tbsp unsalted butter
Preheat the oven to 400°F.
Toss the parsnips with 3 tbsp of the oil and ¼ tsp of salt. Transfer to a large parchment-lined baking pan and roast for 30 minutes, until golden brown and soft. Tip into a food processor and blitz to form a coarse mash. If the mix is very dry, then add the water and blitz again to combine. Transfer to a large bowl and set aside.
Place the fish in the food processor (don’t worry about wiping it clean) and pulse a few times—you want it to be roughly chopped rather than completely minced—then add to the bowl of parsnips, along with the dill, chives, garlic, lemon zest, eggs, 1 tsp salt, and plenty of pepper. Mix well, then form into 12 patties; they should be about 3¼ inch/8cm wide and ¾–1¼ inches/2–3cm thick. At this stage you can cover the patties and keep them in the fridge until ready to cook (up to 24 hours).
Put 1½ tbsp of the butter and 2½ tbsp of the remaining oil into a large frying pan and place over medium-high heat. Once the butter starts to foam, add half the patties and fry for 8 minutes, turning them after 4 minutes, until crisp and golden brown. Keep warm while you cook the rest, adding the remaining 1½ tbsp of butter and 2½ tbsp of oil to the pan. Serve with wedges of lemon.
Grilled prawn, corn, and tomato salad
Taking the shell off the prawns can be a bit of a fiddly job, so start with peeled prawns (fresh, or frozen and defrosted), if you like. They won’t have the tail intact, which always looks great, but they work perfectly well. If you want to get ahead, make the dressing up to 2 days in advance.
Serves four as a starter or two as a main
DRESSING
¾-inch/2cm piece of ginger, peeled and finely chopped (2 tbsp)
1 tbsp sriracha
1½ tbsp olive oil
1 lime: finely zest to get 1 tsp, then juice to get 1½ tbsp
¼ tsp granulated sugar
salt
15½ oz/440g shell-on tiger prawns, peeled and deveined, tail on (or peeled tiger prawns) (8½ oz/240g)
1 tsp olive oil
salt
1 small red onion, cut into ½-inch/1½ cm wedges (mounded 1 cup/120g)
¾ cup/100g frozen corn, defrosted
9 oz/250g cherry tomatoes
1 tbsp marjoram leaves (or oregano)
To make the dressing, mix together the ginger, sriracha, olive oil, lime, sugar, and ⅛ tsp salt. Set aside.
Place a grill pan over high heat and ventilate your kitchen well. While the grill pan is heating up, mix the shrimp with the oil and ⅛ tsp salt and set aside. Place the onion on the grill pan for 5 minutes, turning over every so often until charred and cooked but still retaining a bite. Transfer to a large bowl, then add the corn to the grill pan. Cook for 2 minutes, until charred, then add to the onion.
Continue with the tomatoes, adding them to the grill pan for 3 minutes, turning throughout so that they are charred on all sides. Add to the bowl of onion and corn. Add the shrimp to the grill pan and grill for 4 minutes, turning after 2 minutes, until the shrimp are charred and cooked through. Add to the vegetables, along with the marjoram and the dressing. Gently stir to combine and serve.
Squid and red bell pepper stew
This is a one-pot dish, big on flavor, which simmers away for just 30 minutes while you get on with something else in the kitchen. It’s also delicious a day or two after you make it—just keep in the fridge and warm through before serving. Serve with plain couscous or rice, or just some crusty bread to soak up the juices, along with a crisp green salad. Ask your fishmonger to clean the fresh squid for you, if you don’t want to do it yourself; otherwise bags of frozen (and cleaned) squid are widely available.
Serves two as a main or four as part of a tapas spread
5 tbsp/70ml olive oil
1 medium onion, sliced into thick pinwheels, about ½ inch/1cm wide (1⅔ cups/160g)
1 large red bell pepper, halved, cored, seeded, and sliced lengthwise ½ inch/1cm thick (2 cups/150g)
salt
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
2 tsp caraway seeds
¾ tsp ground allspice
black pepper
2 lb 2 oz/1kg squid, cleaned, skin removed, cut into ½-inch/1½ cm strips (1 lb 2 oz/500g)
1½ tbsp tomato paste
3 bay leaves
1 tbsp chopped thyme leaves
10 tbsp/150ml red wine
1 small orange, finely zested to get ¼ tsp (optional)
Put the oil into a large sauté pan with a lid and place over medium-high heat. Add the onion and bell pepper, along with a rounded ¼ tsp salt, and cook for 5 minutes, stirring from time to time. Add the garlic, caraway seeds, allspice, and a really good grind of black pepper. Continue to sauté for another 5 minutes, until everything is nice and soft.
Add the squid, cook for 5 minutes, then stir in the tomato paste, bay leaves, and thyme. Cook for another 2–3 minutes, then pour in the wine. Decrease the heat to low and allow everything to simmer away, covered, for about 30 minutes, stirring a few times, until the squid is cooked and soft. If the sauce is turning dry toward the end of cooking, you might need to add 1–2 tbsp of water. Add the orange zest just before serving and give everything a final gentle stir.
Whole roasted sea bass with soy sauce and ginger
This is the centerpiece for an Asian-style feast, served with some Thai sticky rice (this page) and Broccolini with soy sauce, garlic, and peanuts (this page) or any other green. If you want to get ahead, the fish can be prepared a few hours in advance and kept in the fridge, ready for the sauce to be poured on top and the dish placed in the oven. Thanks to Helen Goh.
Serves four
SAUCE
7 tbsp/100ml chicken stock (or vegetable stock)
2 tbsp sesame oil
2 tbsp shaoxing wine (or dry sherry)
3½ tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp granulated sugar
1 whole sea bass, about 18 inches/45cm long, scaled, gutted and rinsed (2 lb 2 oz/1kg)
flaked sea salt
10 green onions, trimmed (5¾ oz/160g)
1 medium 1 lb 10 oz/750g green cabbage, halved, cored and leaves removed individually
1½-inch/4cm piece of ginger, peeled and julienned (¼ cup/30g)
1 red chile, seeded and julienned
5 tbsp/75ml peanut oil
½ cup/10g cilantro leaves, or leaves and stems, if tender
Preheat the oven to 425°F.
Put all the ingredients for the sauce in a small pan and
place over high heat. Once boiling, cook for 1 minute, swirling the pan slightly so that the sugar dissolves. Remove from the heat and set aside.
Make 5 diagonal slits on both sides of the fish, ¼ inch/½ cm deep and about 3¼ inches/8cm long. Sprinkle 1 tsp of flaked salt evenly over one side of the fish and rub in. Repeat with another tsp on the other side, then sprinkle the inside with another ½ tsp. Cut 8 of the green onions into 2-inch/5cm lengths and set aside. Thinly slice the remaining 2 green onions and set aside, keeping them separate.
Spread the cabbage and larger pieces of green onions out into a large baking dish or pan. Place the fish diagonally on top and sprinkle with the ginger. Pour the sauce over the fish, then cover the pan tightly with foil and place in the oven for 40 minutes, basting twice during the process, until it is cooked through. To check that it is ready, gently insert a knife into one of the slits and check that the flesh comes away from the bones and is opaque. Sprinkle with the thinly sliced green onion, along with the chile, and set aside.
Pour the peanut oil into a small pan and place over high heat for about 2 minutes, until it starts to smoke. Very carefully pour it evenly over the fish so that the skin and vegetables start to crisp. Top with the cilantro and serve, either straight from the baking dish or on a platter. If on a platter, arrange the cabbage leaves and green onion on the platter—pull them out from under the fish—then carefully lift the fish to sit on top. Pour the cooking sauce on top and serve.
Ottolenghi Simple Page 16