Serves 4
Ingredients
- 4 x 175g (6oz) hake fillets, pin boned and scaled
- 16 raw Dublin Bay Prawns, peeled and veins removed
- 125g (4 1/2oz) Mozzarella cheese, grated
- 4tsp chilli jam
- 4 tbsp chopped fresh basil
- 4 tbsp pesto
- FOR THE SPINACH
- 225g (8oz) spinach, washed and stalks removed
- 50g (2oz) 2oz butter
- 1 pinch caster sugar
- Maldon sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
Preheat the oven to 180C (350F), Gas 4. Place the hake on a baking sheet lined with non-stick parchment paper, season and carefully arrange the prawns on top. Sprinkle over the basil and then drizzle the chilli jam or sauce on top. Scatter over the mozzarella and season to taste. Bake for about 15-20 minutes until golden brown.
To sauté the spinach, heat a pan and add the butter. Once it has stopped foaming quickly sauté the spinach with the sugar until soft and wilted. Season to taste and drain well on kitchen paper to remove the excess moisture. Return to the pan and keep warm.
To serve, place a pile of the sautéed spinach in centre of each plate and using a fish slice, carefully arrange gratin of hake on top. Drizzle around the pesto.
Chilli jam
This is one of my store-cupboard essentials that’s simple to make, and is the ideal substitute for shop-bought sweet chilli sauce. It keeps very well in the fridge for up to 3 weeks and can be put into a squeezy plastic bottle if you would like to use it to garnish plates.
Makes about 450ml (3/4 pint)
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 onions, roughly diced
- 2 red peppers, cored, seeded and roughly diced
- 1 garlic clove, crushed
- 1 red chilli, finely chopped
- 1 tbsp tomato puree
- 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 50g (2oz) light muscovado sugar
- 4 ripe tomatoes, diced
- 1 tbsp dark soy sauce
- Maldon sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Heat the olive oil in a heavy-based pan on a medium heat. Add the onions, red peppers and garlic and sauté for 2 minutes until just beginning to soften. Stir in the chilli and tomato puree and cook for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the balsamic vinegar, sugar, tomatoes and soy sauce and pour in 300ml (1/2 pint) of water to just cover. Simmer for 45-50 minutes until well reduced and thickened, stirring occasionally.
Remove the chilli jam from the heat and leave to cool completely, then tip into a food processor or liquidiser and blend to a puree. Pass through a sieve set over a bowl and season to taste. Transfer to a rigid plastic container and store in the fridge. Use as required.
Pesto
This will keep happily in the fridge for up to one week just keep topped up with a little extra olive oil to keep it tasting lovely and fresh. It’s great just stirred into pasta for an instant supper.
Makes 250ml (9fl oz)
Ingredients
- 1 large bunch of fresh basil leaves (at least 50g (2oz)
- 2 garlic cloves, peeled
- 25g (1oz) pine kernels
- 175ml (6fl oz) extra-virgin olive oil
- 50g (2oz) freshly grated Parmesan
- Maldon sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Place the basil in a food processor with the garlic, pine nuts and a quarter of the olive oil. Blend to a paste, then slowly add the remaining olive oil through the feeder tube. Transfer to a bowl and fold in the Parmesan, then season to taste. Cover with clingfilm and chill until needed.
