Baked White Fish

(All Recipes have Gluten-Free Options)

Roast Cod with White Bean & Chorizo Mash (Serves 4)

This is one of those recipes which sings with flavour despite being a quick- throw-together recipe. I particularly like the idea of mashed cannellini beans rather than traditional potato as it’s so much quicker to prepare, and, with the chorizo is super tasty.

4 x 175g thick cod fillets with skin (or another white meaty fish)

2 tablespoons olive oil, plus extra to oil the fish

Salt and black pepper

2 x 400g tins cannellini beans, strained (retain the liquid)

2 sprigs of fresh rosemary, leaves stripped and chopped

125g chorizo, quartered lengthways and sliced

2 cloves garlic, crushed

4 tablespoons white wine or dry sherry

1 tablespoon chopped parsley leaves

Lemon wedges and parsley sprigs to serve

Rub the cod with a little olive oil, season with salt and pepper and set aside.
In a small saucepan warm the olive oil, then add the rosemary, chorizo and garlic and cook gently until softened but not browned.
Mash the beans and season, add the white wine or sherry and a few tablespoons of the reserved liquid from the tins to create a soft mash.
Pour off some of the chorizo oil and reserve then add the contents of the chorizo pan and the parsley to the mash, mix and gently heat through.
Meanwhile cook the cod skin side up on a hot (almost smoking) ovenproof frying pan until golden underneath, then turn the fish over and place the pan in a preheated oven, 220’c fan, for 4-8minutes until just cooked through.
Place a dollop of the bean mash on a plate, top with a piece of cod and drizzle with the reserved chorizo oil. Serve with a leafy green salad.

Asian Style Sea Bass en Papillote (Serves 4)

This is a great ‘mess free’ recipe from the team behind London restaurant ‘Wild by Tart’. I have doubled their recipe so that it will serve 4. It’s a dish that bursts with flavour, unfortunately the bright colours of the dressing become dull from cooking but your taste buds will still be singing!… Simply serve with rice.

2 handfuls of spinach

2 courgettes, thinly sliced into rounds

4 sea bass fillets

Large bunch of coriander, leaves picked (reserve some to serve)

2 limes cut into wedges

For the dressing:

2 lemon grass stalks, roughly chopped

8 lime leaves

2 shallots, finely diced

2 red chillies, finely chopped, plus extra to serve

2 x 5cm pieces of ginger, peeled and cut into thin matchsticks

2 large cloves garlic, thinly sliced

2 tablespoons soy sauce (gluten-free if required)

2 tablespoons mirin

2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil

2 teaspoons sugar or honey

2 teaspoons fish sauce

2 limes, zest and juice

First make the dressing. Bash the lemon grass and lime leaves together, either with a mortar and pestle or a rolling pin, until their juices are released and they begin to become mushy. Add to a bowl with the remaining dressing ingredients.
Get four large pieces of baking paper. Divide the spinach and courgettes between the sheets of paper and place a sea bass fillet on top, then fold up and scrunch the sides to form a pouch. Pour the dressing over each fillet and finish with the coriander and a few wedges of lime. Bring the tops of the pouch together and seal by folding and scrunching together.
Place the parcels on baking trays and cook in a preheated oven, 200’c fan, for 20-25 minutes. Serve hot with jasmine rice and sprinkle with the reserved coriander leaves.

‘Baked in a Bag’ Fillet of Fish, Peas & Leeks (Serves 4)

You could use any white fish fillet such as cod or haddock for this recipe, either way, it’s a wonderfully fresh-tasting dish and is very easy to make!

4 x white fish fillets such as haddock or cod, 150g each

60g butter

1 tablespoon olive oil

8 baby leeks, trimmed and thinly sliced

150g peas, defrosted if frozen

8 tablespoons white wine

4 teaspoons fresh dill, chopped

Sea salt and black pepper

Cut out 4 squares of kitchen foil, big enough to hold the fish and vegtables.
Melt the butter with the olive oil in a pan over a medium heat. Add the leeks and peas and fry gently, covered by a lid, for 10 minutes.
Add the wine and dill, season to taste and simmer until the liquid has evaporated.
Put a quarter of the vegetables in the middle of each piece of foil. Top with a piece of fish and season. Fold over to make a loose but tightly sealed parcel.
Put the parcels on a baking sheet and bake in a preheated oven, 170’c fan, for 25 minutes.
Open the parcels carefully onto serving plates.

Pot-Roasted Pollack, Chickpeas & Chorizo (Serves 4-6)

This is a wonderful, slightly smoky flavoured dish from Tom Kerridge’s cookbook ‘Proper Pub Food’. It’s excellent for entertaining as you can prepare the chickpea and chorizo stew beforehand and then when your guests are ready to eat just reheat it with the fish on top for about 15 minutes! Instead of pollack you could make it with another firm white fish, such as haddock or cod. (The original recipe uses dried chickpeas, but for an easy alternative I use tinned).

4 tablespoons sea salt flakes

A pinch of saffron

1 fillet of pollock, about 500g skinned and pin-boned (or another white fish such as haddock)

6 tablespoons olive oil

2 garlic cloves, crushed

2 fresh red chillies, chopped

2 onions, finely chopped

4 cooking chorizos, cut into bite-sized pieces

2 dried bay leaves

1 cinnamon stick

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

150g tinned chickpeas, drained

1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes

200ml chicken stock

200g spinach leaves

Sea salt and black pepper to taste

Mix together the sea salt flakes and saffron. Place a piece of clingfilm large enough to wrap around the pollack on the work surface, sprinkle with half the salt mix and place the pollack on top, then sprinkle the remaining salt mix over the fish and wrap in the clingfilm tightly. Leave in the fridge for 1½ hours.
Heat the olive oil in a large flameproof casserole over a medium heat. Add the garlic, red chillies and onions and fry, stirring occasionally, for 6-8 minutes until the onion has softened.
Add the chorizo to the pot and continue frying for a further 5 minutes. Stir in the bay leaves, cinnamon stick, cumin and paprika and fry, stirring, for a further 3-4 minutes.
Add the chickpeas to the pot, then the tinned tomatoes and the stock. Bring to the boil and put in a preheated oven, 170’c fan, for 45 minutes.
Remove the pan from the oven. The sauce should have reduced a little and thickened. Taste and add salt if necessary.
Rinse the pollack thoroughly under cold running water. Pat dry and place on top of the chickpeas. Place the pot back in the oven for a further 10-15 minute, until the fish is cooked through and the flesh flakes easily.
Remove the pot from the oven. Gently take the fish from the pot and place on a large serving plate. Stir the spinach into the hot chickpeas until it just wilts. Spoon this mix over and around the fish and serve immediately.

Sea Bass with Potatoes and Cherry Tomatoes (Serves 4)

This is such a quick and tasty fish dish, all it needs is a good green salad on the side (I like to dress it with sherry vinegar vinaigrette – recipe here!).

250g cherry vine tomatoes

500g new potatoes (waxy potatoes)

4 sea bass fillets

4 sprigs of rosemary

Olive oil

180ml white wine

Peel and slice the potatoes, then parboil for 5 minutes.
Meanwhile cut the tomatoes in half and squeeze out the seeds and juice.
Put the drained potatoes in a baking tin with the tomatoes and rosemary sprigs, drizzle with olive oil gently mix. Bake in a preheated oven, 200’c fan, for 15 minutes.
Then pour over the white wine and cook for a further 15-25 minutes until the potatoes are lightly browned.
Place the sea bass fillets on top of the potatoes and drizzle with more olive oil. Cook for 12 minutes.
Serve with the pan juices spooned over and a good green salad on the side.

Butter Roasted Cod with Spring Onion Mash (Serves 4)

This recipe has wonderful light, bright flavours. It’s a recipe that I picked up many years ago from Silvana Franco’s cookbook, ‘Family Food’. It’s an easy dish which is perfect for a family midweek supper… and like me, I think you’ll be cooking it more than once!

1 kg floury potatoes (such as Maris Piper), peeled and cubed

4 skinless cod fillet pieces (around 150g each)

Large knob of butter, plus extra to grease

Grated zest and juice of 1 lime

1 bunch of spring onions, trimmed and thinly sliced

2-3 tablespoons olive oil

Sea salt and black pepper

Cook the potatoes in a large pan of boiling, salted water until tender (15-20 minutes).
Meanwhile, cut out 4 rectangles of greaseproof paper, just large enough for each piece of fish. Lightly butter each piece of paper and place on a large baking tray. Place the fish on the paper and dot with butter. Sprinkle the lime zest over and season with salt and pepper.
Bake the fish in a preheated oven, 200’c fan, for 6-8 minutes until just cooked.
Drain the potatoes and roughly mash (they don’t have to be smooth), then stir in the spring onions, olive oil and lime juice (to taste). Season with salt and pepper.
Divide the mash between four plates and gently ease the fish off the paper and slide on top of the mash. Serve immediately.

Hake with Capers, Saffron & Tomatoes (Serves 4)

I love the simple elegance of this dish, it’s super quick and easy to cook – it really is my favourite kind of recipe! It is from the cookbook ‘Memories of Gascony’ by Pierre Koffman, one of the world’s greatest Michelin starred chefs, so it is the type of dish that is equally good enough to serve to guests as it is to the family! If you can’t get hold of hake, you could substitute it for cod steaks. This simple yet elegant dish is delicious with steamed new potatoes.

4 Hake steaks (see note above)

2 shallots, finely chopped

250ml dry white wine

A pinch of saffron

Sea salt

50g butter

50g capers

2 large tomatoes, skinned deseeded and diced

1 teaspoon fresh parsley, chopped

Put the fish in a flameproof dish with the shallots, white wine and 50ml water, saffron and salt to taste. Bring to simmering point, cover with foil and place in a preheated oven, 190’ fan, for 15 minutes.
Transfer the fish to a serving dish, keep warm. Place the dish over a medium/high heat and allow to bubble to reduce the cooking juices by half. Whisk in the butter and then add the capers and tomatoes, check the seasoning.
Pour the sauce over the hake and sprinkle with the chopped parsley to serve.

Roast Sea Bream with Figs and Almonds (Serves 4)

In this recipe the delicate flavour of sea bream is complemented by salty olives and sweet figs – it’s a fantastic combination! In addition it’s a really simple recipe, all you need is a good green salad on the side. You don’t use fresh figs, but dried, so this is a good all-year-round recipe. Depending on the size of the fish you could serve one fish per person or alternatively two larger fish for four. I found this recipe in Skye McAlpine’s cookbook ‘A Table in Venice’ – not only are the recipes delicious but the photographs of both the food and of Venice are inspiring!…

4 sea bream (or 2 larger – see note above)

10 dried figs, quartered

80g black olives, stoned

20 almonds, chopped

50ml white wine

50ml olive oil

A few sprigs of rosemary

Sea salt

Wash the fish under cold water and pat dry, including their insides, with kitchen roll. Rub the insides of the fish with a little salt and lay them in a roasting tin.
Scatter the figs, olives and almonds over and around the fish. Drizzle in the wine and olive oil, tear the rosemary into pieces and add to the roasting tin.
Roast in an oven to 180’c fan for 30 minutes until the fish is cooked.

Sea Bass Baked in Salt with Agrumi Sauce (Serves 4)

By cooking fish in a salt crust you trap all of its natural flavours and moisture, it doesn’t make the fish any saltier than if you seasoned it regularly, but it does ensure that your fish is beautifully moist and flavoursome! In this recipe the salt paste is flavoured with star anise and orange, which very delicately adds to the flavour of the fish. The oven-baked crusted salt is then removed to reveal a perfectly cooked fish which falls easily from the bone, it is served simply with a delicious citrus dressing, Agrumi Sauce. It is an easy yet impressive recipe, I like to serve it with ‘New Potatoes with Lemon & Samphire’ (recipe here) and a good green salad.

*if you can’t find anise seeds in your local supermarket they are available on Amazon.

1 whole sea bass to serve 4 people (or 2 smaller fish)

1.2kg course sea salt

25g anise seed

25g star anise, crushed in a mortar

Zest of 1 orange

Zest of 1 lemon

5 egg whites, lightly beaten

½ to 1 orange, sliced into half moons

Several sprigs flat leaf parsley

For the Agrumi Sauce:

120ml freshly squeezed orange juice

1 tablespoon lemon juice

Zest of ½ orange

Zest ½ lemon

175ml extra-virgin olive oil

5 mint leaves (plus more to garnish)

5 basil leaves (plus more to garnish)

Salt

To make the agrumi sauce, stir all the ingredients together in a bowl, bruising the herbs with the back of the spoon. Season to taste with salt and let it sit for at least 30 minutes at room temperature to allow the flavours to develop, then strain through a sieve to serve.
Meanwhile, in a large bowl combine the course sea salt, anise seeds, crushed star anise, orange and lemon zests and the egg whites; it will have the consistency of wet sand.
Stuff the fish’s cavity with the orange slices and parsley sprigs. Spoon 1/3 of the salt mixture onto a baking dish large enough to hold the fish. Set the fish on the salt mixture (if using 2 smaller fish set them side by side over the salt mixture). Cover the entire fish with the remaining salt mixture and pat it down into place.
Bake in a preheated oven, 200’c fan, for about 25 minutes until cooked (a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the fish measures 130’c).
To serve, using a knife or spoon, crack the salt crust off the top of the fish and discard. Lift the fish from the salt and carefully fillet the fish by removing the skin and large bones. Transfer the filleted fish to plates and serve with the agrumi sauce. Garnish with additional mint and basil leaves.

Mullet with a Mustard Crust (Serves 4)

Such a lovely way to cook this fish and so tasty! It is simply a case of mixing the mustards and spreading them over, then baking the fish in the oven for about 20 minutes. Serve with a good salad (use a Honey Mustard Vinaigrette – recipe here) and steamed potatoes.

4 Red Mullet, gutted and scaled

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

200g grainy mustard (such as Meaux)

Olive oil

Make 3 incisions across the fish on each side.
Mix the Dijon and grainy mustard together and spread quite thickly over the fish – you may not use all of the mustard mix.
Lightly oil a large baking tray, place the fish on it and bake in the oven, 200’c fan, for 20 minutes.
Serve at once with steamed potatoes and a good salad – I like to dress it with Honey Mustard Vinaigrette, recipe here.

Plaice with Crab and Olive Stuffing (Serves 4)

This is a very impressive, elegant dish yet unbelievably easy to cook – my favourite kind of dish! The crab stuffing is the star of this recipe, any unused stuffing is equally delicious spread on toast for lunch the next day or stirred through spaghetti as a sauce. I only use crab in my stuffing, but you could cut it with fresh bread crumbs, using half crab, half breadcrumbs – which will keep the cost of the dish down. I serve this with sautéed spinach with garlic (you can find this recipe on my ‘Side Dishes’ Page) and steamed new potatoes. This recipe is from the London restaurant, J. Sheekey, and can be found in their cookbook ‘Fish’.

4 skinned plaice fillets

50ml white wine

1 lemon, juiced

Olive oil

For the stuffing:

50g unsalted butter

1 shallot, chopped

1 clove garlic, crushed

½ red chilli, deseeded and chopped

200g white crab meat (or 100g crab meat and 100g fresh white breadcrumbs – see note above)

30g black Kalamata black olives, chopped

½ bunch parsley, chopped (and a little extra to serve)

1 lemon, zested (use lemon from above)

Olive oil

Sea salt and black pepper

For the stuffing, heat the butter in a saucepan, add the shallot, garlic and chilli and cook for 2 minutes, then, if using breadcrumbs add these and cook for a further minute.
Remove from heat and add the crab meat, olives, lemon zest and parsley – season and mix well – if it seems a little dry add a splash of olive oil.
Lay the plaice fillets out flat and place some stuffing in the middle of each fillet, roll the fish up from the tail end.
Place each rolled up fillet in a baking dish. Splash the olive oil, lemon juice and white wine over the fish and place in a preheated oven, 200’c fan, for 15 minutes.
Sprinkle over the remaining parsley and serve with sautéed spinach and steamed new potatoes.

Baked Sea Bass with Lemon Potatoes (Serves 4)

This is a lovely, simple recipe which I found in the cookbook, ‘Cook; A Year in the Kitchen with Britain’s Favourite Chefs’, just as its title indicates, it contains many different recipes from various chefs. This particular recipe is by Bill Granger, and is one that I have cooked on numerous occasions. Cooking a whole fish can seem daunting – but believe me this recipe is particularly easy! It is worth cooking this dish simply for the lemon potatoes – they’re delicious, I often make them on their own to serve with simple roast chicken or other fish recipes.

*You can see the video of this fish dish being made by clicking on this link to my Instagram Page

1 whole seabass for 4 people

1 bunch of coriander

10 spring onions

1 teaspoon chilli flakes

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon sea salt

For the Lemon Potatoes:

1 kg new potatoes (waxy potatoes)

3 tablespooons olive oil

3 cloves garlic, crushed

125ml fish or chicken stock

60ml lemon juice

100g pitted black olives, sliced

1 small bunch parsley, chopped

Sea salt and black pepper

For the lemon potatoes, cut the unpeeled potatoes into thick slices and place in a roasting tin. Add the olive oil, garlic, stock, lemon juice, salt and pepper, and toss to combine.
Bake in a preheated oven, 200’c fan, for 30 minutes stirring every 10 minutes
Meanwhile put the coriander, spring onions, chilli flakes, olive oil and salt in a processor and process to make a coarse paste.
Make 3 slashes on each side of the fish and place on a baking tray. Spread the paste over the fish rubbing it into the slashes.
After the potatoes have cooked for 30 minutes, lower the oven temperature to 180’c and place the fish in the oven on the shelf below the potatoes.
Bake the fish (and continue baking the potatoes) for 20 minutes or until cooked through, 5 minutes before the end of cooking add the olives and the parsley to the potatoes.
Serve immediately

Sea Bass Baked with Fennel & Potato (Serves 4)

This is a simple ‘all in one dish’ – you simply cook the sea bass over the vegetables. I found this recipe in Sally Clarke’s book ‘ Thirty Ingredients’. Sally Clarke has had a restaurant (and a bakery/shop) in North Kensington for many years, if you get the chance to eat there I would definitely recommend it, it is a lovely experience, she is renowned for using the best fresh, seasonal ingredients. I like to serve it with a salad with lemon vinaigrette.

4 sea bass fillets, pin boned (ask your butcher to do this)

3 Désirée potatoes (or other roasting potatoes)

2 fennel bulbs

1 tablespoon fennel seeds

60ml olive oil, plus extra to drizzle

4 bay leaves

Peelings from an orange

1 bunch of dill, leaves picked

100ml orange juice

Sea salt and black pepper

Although your fishmonger would have pin boned the fish fillets, I suggest you go over them again with tweezers – by doing this you really will avoid bones in your cooked dish.
Peel and slice the potatoes thickly. Slice the fennel bulbs and reserve any leafy fronds.
Toast the fennel seeds in a small frying pan until fragrant (a few seconds), then crush with a pestle and mortar.
Place the vegetables in a roasting tin with the olive oil, salt and pepper, bay leaves, orange peel, half of the dill leaves and half of the crushed fennel seeds. Mix together using your hands and spread out flat in the tin.
Place the tin in preheated oven, 180’c fan, roast for about 25 minutes, until the vegetables are almost tender.
Once the vegetables are almost tender, place the sea bass fillets on top, skin side up, sprinkle with the rest of the fennel seeds, remaining dill leaves, the fennel fronds, salt, pepper and drizzle with olive oil.
Bake for 5 minutes then pour the orange juice over the vegetables – not over the fish, as you want the skin to crisp!
Cook for a further 5-7 minutes until the fish is just cooked and the skin is crisp.
Serve with a green salad dressed with a lemon vinaigrette – I also like to sprinkle some of the reserved fennel fronds over the salad.

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