Baked Fish Recipe (with Fennel Salad and Smashed Potatoes)

Serves 4 | Prep 15 min | Cook 20 min | Ready in 35mins

Warmer weather welcomes fresh crunchy salads and what better way to celebrate with fennel. This dish is perfect for entertaining or when you’re in the mood for a no fuss meal. Delicious baked fish that is full of zest, served with a fresh crunchy fennel salad and smashed potatoes.

INGREDIENTS

4 medium flathead fillets
2 tsp salt flakes
2 tsp cracked black pepper
1 tsp ground sumac
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 lemon thinly sliced
Olive oil for cooking

SALAD

1 large fennel bulb
1 medium zucchini
½ medium red onion
1 yellow grapefruit
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp honey
½ tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
Pepita’s to garnish (optional)

POTATOES

450g potatoes
1 tbsp salted butter
1 clove garlic
Cracked black pepper and salt to taste

TO SERVE

Reserve some fennel prongs for garnish

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 220°C fan forced

2. Dice the potatoes into 2cm pieces and add them to a paper lined baking tray. Drizzle with olive oil and a good sprinkle of salt flakes. Place on the top shelf in the oven.

3. In a separate tray; line with paper and place the slices of lemon down. Place the fish on the slices of lemon and drizzle with olive oil, salt, paprika, sumac and pepper. Seal the tray with foil to keep all the moisture in and reserve to the side.

4. Using a sharp knife or mandolin; finely slice the fennel bulb, zucchini and red onion into a bowl. Peel the grapefruit with a knife removing all the white pith. With the knife carefully cut each grapefruit segment out following the natural shape of the wedges. This will produce wedges of grapefruit that are skin free. Reserve the remainder of the grapefruit pulp.

5. After 15mins; add the fish into the oven with the potatoes and cook for 8mins.

6. In a small bowl; combine the vinegar, olive oil, honey, salt and pepper. With the reserved grapefruit pulp; give it a good squeeze and add the juices into the bowl. Whisk well and pour over the fennel salad. Fold well to make sure all vegetables marinate.

7. Remove the fish and potatoes from the oven. The potatoes should be soft enough to push a fork through. In the tray with the potatoes while hot; add the butter, crushed garlic clove and season with salt and pepper and roughly smash the potatoes with a wooden spoon to break them up and coat in butter and seasoning.

To serve; place the fish in a large dish with the juices and slices of lemon, garnish with some fennel springs. Place the fennel salad in a bowl and pour any excess dressing over, and sprinkle with pepitas for crunch. Place a bowl of the smashed potatoes to the side and your set for a delicious meal.

NOTES

If you don’t have pepitas on hand you can add any nut you enjoy, just crumble over before serving to prevent them going soggy.
You can substitute the flathead for your preference of fish; you will need to adjust and/or increase the cooking time if the pieces are larger than 100g fillets.
For the best results we only use Australian organic produce and ingredients

Recipe by Sara Stidwill from www.dukkahandspice.com.au@dukkahandspice