serves
4
prep
20 minutes
cook
45 minutes
difficulty
Mid
serves
4
people
preparation
20
minutes
cooking
45
minutes
difficulty
Mid
level
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 leek, pale part only, thinly sliced
- 1 fennel bulb, halved, outer leaves and core removed, finely chopped
- 1 tsp salt
- 2-3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 250 ml (1 cup) decent white wine such as Riesling or pinot gris
- good pinch saffron threads, soaked in 1 tablespoon water
- 2 bay leaves
- 650 g super-ripe fresh tomatoes, peeled and chopped, or the equivalent tinned
- freshly ground black pepper
- 500 g whole fillet snapper, skin on, bones removed
- 12 live black local mussels, de-bearded
- olive oil crostini, to serve
Instructions
Preheat oven to 180°C.
Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the leek, fennel and salt and stir for 5-6 minutes or until soft. Add the garlic and cook for a further minute, then add the wine and simmer for 1-2 minutes or until the alcohol has burnt off. Add the saffron liquid, bay leaves, tomatoes and 1.25 litres (5 cups) of water. Simmer for 10 minutes, then season with black pepper.
Place the fish, skin-side down, in a baking tray or on an oven-proof platter and season lightly with salt. Spread enough sauce over the fish to cover well, then cover the tray tightly with foil and bake for 15 minutes or until just cooked through. The cooking time will vary according to the thickness of the fillet.
While the fish is baking, add the mussels to the remaining hot sauce in the pan and cook just until the mussels open. Remove the fish from the oven once cooked and pour the mussels and sauce over the top. Serve immediately, with olive oil crostini and a good Riesling.
Tip
• Soaking the saffron in a little water helps extract as much flavour as possible. Do this overnight if you can. If you don’t have saffron, don’t be tempted to use ground turmeric as it has a completely different flavour, so just leave it out.
Destination Flavour Christmas airs December 11, 8:30pm on SBS ONE.
Cook's Notes
Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.
