Recipe by The Seahorse
Mat makes a wonderful pepper stew, which is deep in flavour, and it’s just great with this fish although we serve it with pretty much any fish as it’s that good. A well-made salsa verde, herby and piquant, could stand up on its own as a garnish with any grilled fish but it works well with the peppers.
From The Seahorse by Mitch Tonks and Mat Prowse, published by Absolute Press, priced £25.00.
Ingredients
For 4 people.
- 50ml olive oil
- 4 red gurnard fillets, about 180–200g each, skin on
For the pepperonata:
- 50ml olive oil2 red onions, sliced
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 tablespoon tomato purée
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 2 red peppers, deseeded and sliced
- 2 yellow peppers, deseeded and sliced a pinch of saffron strands
For the salsa verde:
- a handful of flat-leaf parsley
- a handful of basil
- a handful of mint
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 tablespoon capers
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 12 salted anchovy fillets
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- salt
Method
Preheat the oven to 200°C/Gas Mark 6.
- 1. For the pepperonata, heat the olive oil in a lidded saucepan over a medium heat. Add the onions, garlic and oregano and sweat for 5 minutes, or until soft. Add the tomato purée and cumin and cook for a further 2 minutes.
- 2. Next, add the peppers and saffron and mix well, then cover the pan with a lid and stew the peppers for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- 3. Uncover and cook for a further 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Check the seasoning then remove from the heat.
- 4. To make the salsa verde, place all the ingredients except the olive oil into a food processor and pulse blend them to a rough paste. Add half the oil and blend again to combine, then add the remaining oil and repeat.
- 5. To cook the fish, heat the olive oil in a large, ovenproof frying pan over a medium heat. Add the red gurnard and cook for about 2 minutes until golden on one side. Carefully turn the red gurnard over and place the pan into the oven and roast for 6-8 minutes (depending on size and thickness of fish) until cooked.
- 6. Remove the fish from the oven and serve with a spoonful of the pepperonata and the salsa verde.
