“This delicate white baked fish in a gorgeous Italian-style sauce is simple and mega tasty. ”
Ingredients
- 3 cloves of garlic
- 1 bunch of fresh basil
- olive oil
- 1 fresh red chilli
- 2x 400 g tins of quality plum tomatoes
- red wine vinegar
- 4x 150 g white fish fillets , such as coley, whiting, pollock, skin off, pin-boned, from sustainable sources, ask your fishmonger
- 1 handful of black olives , (stone in)
- 1 tablespoon capers
Method
- To make the sauce, peel and finely slice the garlic cloves. Pick the basil leaves and finely slice the stalks.
- Heat a good couple of lugs of oil in a large pan over medium heat, add the garlic and basil stalks. Pierce the chilli once with a knife so it doesn’t explode when frying, then add to the pan. Fry gently until the garlic is soft but not coloured, stirring occasionally.
- Add the tomatoes and season lightly with sea salt and black pepper, then simmer gently over a low heat for 30 minutes, or until thickened and slightly reduced.
- When the time’s up, remove the chilli, and break up the tomatoes with the back of a spoon. Taste and adjust the seasoning, if needed, then add a tiny swig of red wine vinegar to give it a little twang.
- Preheat the oven to 220°C/425°F/gas 7.
- Pour the tomato sauce into a 20cm x 30cm roasting tray. Season the fish fillets on both sides with a little salt and pepper, then place on top of the sauce.
- Squash the olives, using the base of a jar or something heavy, and remove the stones. Sprinkle into the tray, along with the capers and most of the basil leaves over the fish.
- Cook in the oven for around 15 minutes or until the fish is cooked through – check by cutting into the thickest part of one or two of the fillets; they should be pearly white and not transparent.
- Scatter over the remaining basil leaves. Lovely served with new potatoes and a green salad.
Source: Jamie Oliver