Market Fish with Ratatouille and Asparagus
Ingredients
Market Fish
- preferably skin-on fillets - a firm textured white fish works well, particularly moki, blue cod or snapper
- 50g of butter
- juice of half a lemon
- oil
- asparagus(one bunch)
- 150ml of salted water
- 50g of butter
Ratatouille
- 1 red onion
- 3 capsicums; one red, one yellow and one green
- 1 large courgette
- 1 small aubergine
- 1 large tomato; peeled and deseeded
- 2 cloves of crushed garlic
- 2tbs of tomato paste
- 2tbs of balsamic vinegar
- 2tbs of brown sugar
- 50ml of red wine
Method
Ratatouille
Finely dice all vegetables. Place diced aubergine in salted water and reserve; this helps to bleed out the bitterness of the aubergine. Gently sweat onions in a pan with butter and oil for 5 minutes or until translucent. Add the capsicum and garlic and cook until tender - roughly 7 minutes. Add tomato paste and 'caramelise' then deglaze with wine, balsamic vinegar and sugar. Add the tomatoes, courgette and the drained aubergine, cooking until it forms a light stew. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Fish
Heat a separate pan until it begins to smoke lightly. While it is heating, score the skin with long strokes (this will help the skin to crisp).
Once smoking, add enough oil to lightly cover the surface of the pan. Season and place fish skin side down in hot oil.
Allow to cook for 2-3 minutes on high heat until the skin begins to caramelise.
Turn fish and add 50g of butter to the pan. As the butter browns, add a squeeze of lemon juice (this will prevent the butter from burning).
Baste the fish in the hot butter and cook for another 3 minutes: depending on how thick your fillets are.
Allow to stand and drain on a paper towel to remove excess fat.
Asparagus
Cut asparagus in half lengthwise, I like to use just the tips (about 5cm).
Gently melt 50g of butter in a pan and add the asparagus.
Allow for it to colour gently and gradually add the salted water 30mls at a time, letting it reduce fully before adding more.
Repeat process until fork-tender.