Tomato-Poached Fish with Crispy Chilli Oil
In this recipe, white fish is cooked in a flavour-packed tomato sauce until gorgeously tender. Serve this with some rice or crusty bread to mop up all the juices.
Introduction
Poaching boneless, skinless, mild fish fillets in a flavourful, brothy sauce is not just my favourite way to cook fish but also the easiest method with the highest success rate among those who say ‘I’m afraid to cook fish.’ A ‘flavourful, brothy sauce’ can mean any number of things, but I find the best, most crowd-pleasing one is a bright, spicy, sweet tomato number. It starts with the beginnings of a very basic chilli oil (for something more complex, see page 127 of Something From Nothing), fresh or tinned tomatoes and a very healthy splash of fish sauce for added depth. The broth should be bold enough to season the fish as it gently cooks but not so punchy that you can’t drink it by the spoonful afterwards. While this could be turned into a sort of fish stew (cut your fish into bite-size pieces before cooking, and add prawns (shrimp), clams or mussels), I would take advantage of this moment to just enjoy some fish on its own in a lovely little sauce.
Ingredients
| 60ml (2 fl oz/¼ cup) | olive oil, plus more for drizzling |
| 4 | garlic cloves, thinly sliced |
| 1 small | shallot, thinly sliced into rings |
| 1 tsp | chilli flakes |
| 450g (1 lb) | small, sweet tomatoes, halved (or one 400g/14 oz tin whole, peeled tomatoes, drained, then crushed by hand) |
| kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper | |
| 1 tsp | fish sauce |
| 575g (1¼ lb) | skinless cod, basa or flounder, cut into 4 equal pieces |
| 1 handful of | coriander (cilantro), tender leaves and stems |
| limes or lemons, halved, for serving (optional) |
Method
Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over a medium-high heat. Add the garlic and shallot and cook, swirling the skillet constantly, until they start to toast and turn light golden brown, 2 minutes or so. Add the chilli flakes and swirl to toast for a few seconds. Remove from the heat and transfer the crispy garlic and shallots and all but 1 tablespoon of the oil to a small bowl (the garlic and shallots can sit in the oil – that’s fine).
Add the tomatoes to the skillet (if using tinned tomatoes, add them) and season with salt and pepper. Cook, tossing occasionally, until they burst and start to become saucy and jammy, 5–8 minutes. (Give tinned tomatoes closer to 10–12 minutes to take the tinned edge off.) Add the fish sauce and 360 ml (12 fl oz/1½ cups) water, swirling to release any of the bits stuck on the bottom of the skillet.
Cook until the sauce is slightly thickened but still nice and brothy, 3–5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
Season the fish with salt and pepper and gently lay the pieces in the brothy tomatoes. Cover the skillet (if your skillet has a lid, use that – if not, use a baking tray) and cook until the fish is opaque and just cooked through, 4–6 minutes (slightly longer for a thicker piece of fish, like halibut).
To serve, transfer the fish and brothy tomatoes to a large shallow bowl or divide among four bowls. Drizzle with more olive oil and the crispy shallots and garlic. Top with coriander and serve with limes for squeezing.
Eat with
A bowl of perfectly cooked rice, orzo or pearl couscous. Warmed corn tortillas or toasted sourdough. Crunchy Green Beans Dressed in Chilli Oil (page 125 of Something From Nothing). A very cold glass of white wine.
Reviews
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