Im a great believer in a simple tomato sauce. The recipe Ive given you here can be used with all sorts of dishes Ive shown you how to tweak it to go with fish, but you can try using it with anything from pasta to grilled chicken.
Ingredients
- 3 cloves of garlic
- a small bunch of fresh basil
- olive oil
- 1 fresh red chilli
- 2 x 400g tins plum tomatoes
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- red wine vinegar
- 2 x 150g white fish fillets such as pollock, whiting or coley, skin off and bones removed
- a handful of black olives, stone in
- 1 tablespoon capers, drained
To make your sauce
Peel and finely slice the garlic cloves
Pick the basil leaves and put aside, finely slice the stalks
Add a good couple of lugs of olive oil to a large pan on a medium heat
To make your sauce
Add the garlic and basil stalks
Pierce the chilli once with a knife so it doesnt explode when frying, and add to the pan
Fry gently until the garlic is soft but not coloured, stirring occasionally
To make your sauce
Add the tins of plum tomatoes
Lightly season with salt and pepper
Gently simmer on a low heat for 30 minutes
To make your sauce
Remove the chilli
Break and mush the tomatoes up with a wooden spoon
Season the sauce really carefully with more salt and pepper if needed, and add a tiny swig of red wine vinegar to give it a little twang
To prepare and cook your fish
Preheat the oven to 220ΊC/425ΊF/gas 7
Pour your tomato sauce into a roasting tray (approximately 20cm x 30cm)
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
To prepare and cook your fish
Sprinkle the olives and capers over the fish
Scatter over the reserved basil leaves Drizzle everything with olive oil
Cook in the oven for around 15 minutes, or until the fish is cooked through
Lovely served with new potatoes and a green salad (see Simple green salad with French dressing)
© All recipe photgraphy David Loftus and Matt Russell