Here’s a delightful recipe that is quick and easy to do. I posted a picture of it on Facebook this week and several of you asked for the recipe so here it is. Thanks to Nigel for providing the details as it was he who cooked this lovely dish for guests on Monday.
For 4 people you will need:
4 chunky pieces of white fish such as cod or haddock (in fact any white fish would be fine but the chunkier pieces look nice on the plate)
Peas – 300g of fresh in the pod if in season or frozen 150g (absolutely fine – don’t knock a frozen pea!)
1 tbs olive oil
A packet of lardons
A couple of leeks, washed, trimmed and chopped into 1cm lengths
200ml cream
- Pre-heat your oven to 200°C (gas 6)
- Bring a pan of water to the boil, cook the peas until tender, then drain.
- Put the olive oil in a pan, add the leeks and lardons and cook gently until the leeks are tender and the lardons cooked
- Roughly crush the peas and add to the pan along with the cream
- Season with salt and pepper, bring to a simmer until the cream has reduced slightly and nicely coats the peas etc
You can have all your ingredients prepared in advance ie peas cooked and cooled, leeks and lardons soft and cooked, cream at the ready and then:
- Season the fish with salt and pepper, grate over a little fresh lemon rind and a sprig of lemon thyme, drizzle with a teensy bit of olive oil and pop in the oven for 12 minutes (keep an eye – thinner pieces will be done in a jiffy and thicker may require a little longer)
- Bring your peas, leek, lardons and cream together in the last 5 minutes of cooking time for the fish and voila!
- Serve the crushed peas in the bottom of a large bowl or on a large plate, top with the roasted fish and drizzle a little oil and lemon juice over the top
Simple and really tasty. If you are looking to vary it a little you could:
- Lightly steam some fresh green asparagus and use this to replace the leeks (cut into 2cm pieces and reserve a couple of longer stems for presentation)
- Use baby broad beans instead of peas and dress with a few fresh pea shoots
- Add some baby navets that you have quartered and cooked with water and a tsp of sugar
- Use a flat fillet of fish with the skin on, cook skin side down in a non-stick frying pan until crispy and serve skin side up on the peas
Happy cooking!
