Herb Baked Fish with Pea Purée, Samphire & Shoots
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Recipe type: Main
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 2
 
Introducing my herb baked fish with pea purée & samphire, served with roasted new potatoes; basically a posh version of fish, chips and mushy peas.
Ingredients
For the fish
  • 2 x fish fillet such as hake, a portion is around 150-200g per person, depending on the fish.
  • 1 tbsp finely chopped chives and parsley
  • Zest from half a lemon
Pea purée
  • 1 small white onion, minced
  • 1 stick of celery, small dice
  • 250g frozen peas
  • 80mls almond or cows milk + a little more if necessary.
Samphire
  • 60g samphire, rinsed well
General
  • sea salt, pepper, olive oil and butter
  • Roasted new or regular potatoes to serve, and a handful of shoots such as pea or watercress
Instructions
Puree
  1. First make your purée. This can be done ahead of time, chilled in the fridge and warmed up when ready to serve. Make sure it is fully cooled and chilled within 2 hours of making for food safety.
  2. Add a glug (around a tablespoon) of olive oil to a medium-sized saucepan over medium heat, and sauté the onion and celery with a pinch of salt until softened, approx. 5 minutes. Add the peas along with the almond milk. Turn up the heat a little and cook for 4-5 minutes until the peas are al dente. Remove from the heat and cool off for a couple of minutes before blending in a high-speed blender, food processor or with a hand blender until silky smooth, you may need to add more milk. If not serving immediately, you can cool off and chill at this point.
  3. Return the purée to the saucepan, and add salt (start with ¼ tsp) and pepper to taste. A large knob of butter or a drizzle of oil to balance the flavours is also good. If it needs brightening add a dash of lemon juice.
Fish
  1. Pre-heat the oven to 175°C (fan).
  2. Mix the chopped herbs with the lemon zest and a couple of teaspoons of olive oil to make a paste, stir in the lemon zest. Rub all over the fish skin and flesh, season with salt and pepper, and transfer to a lined baking tray skin side up. Bake in the oven for 7-10 minutes until the fish is opaque and flakes easily.
Samphire
  1. Meanwhile, warm a frying pan over a medium-high heat and add a knob of butter / drizzle of oil. When hot, add in the samphire and toss in the heat of the pan for 1-2 minutes, until slightly wilted and warm.
To plate up
  1. Start with a pool of pea purée on the base of your plate, a pasta bowl also works well for this dish. Top with the fish, the samphire and then garnish with shoots such as watercress or pea-shoots. Serve with potatoes on the side.
Recipe by Ceri Jones Chef at https://cerijoneschef.com/herb-baked-fish-with-pea-puree-samphire/