Marcus Wareing's baked haddock with lentils, basil and mascarpone

Friday 3 January at 3:42pm

After a busy and hectic Christmas the last thing you want is to be slaving away in the kitchen. So MasterChef: The Professionals’ fiercest judge Marcus Wareing is here to add a touch of Michelin-starred magic to your home cooking with his quick and easy one-pot wonder- baked haddock with lentils.

Baked haddock with lentils, basil and mascarpone

From Marcus Everyday

Serves: 4

Ingredients

4 skinless, boneless haddock fillets (about 150g each)

4 tbsp rock salt

2 tbsp vegetable oil

2 onions, thinly sliced

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 garlic clove, crushed

1 tsp sweet smoked paprika

2 tbsp tomato purée

250ml tomato juice

600ml good-quality chicken or vegetable stock

250g puy lentils, well rinsed

1 tbsp olive oil

100g mascarpone

2 tbsp milk

Grated zest of ½ a lemon

½ a bunch of basil, leaves picked

Method

Cover the haddock fillets with the rock salt and refrigerate for 10 minutes, then rinse the salt off under cold running water and pat the fish dry with kitchen paper. Set aside.
Preheat the oven to 200°C/fan 180°C/gas 6
Heat the vegetable oil in a large casserole dish over medium heat. Add the sliced onions, season well with salt and pepper and cook for about 10 minutes, until soft, then add the garlic and cook for a further 3 minutes. Stir in the smoked paprika, followed by the tomato purée. Cook for 1 minute, then mix in the tomato juice and stock. Season again with salt and pepper and bring to the boil.
Add the lentils, mix well, cover the casserole dish with a lid, or foil, and place in the oven for 20 minutes, stirring after 10 minutes
Remove the casserole from the oven. Remove the lid or foil and place the salted haddock fillets into the lentils, pressing them down with a spoon so they are almost submerged. Drizzle the olive oil on top of the fillets. Pop the lid, or foil, back on top and return the casserole to the oven for 10 minutes.
Remove from the oven and leave to rest for a further 5 minutes, covered, until the fish has cooked through
Place the mascarpone in a bowl with the milk, lemon zest and a pinch each of salt and pepper and whisk until smooth. Dollop on top of the fish and lentils. Pop the casserole back in the oven for 2 minutes then serve, sprinkled with the basil leaves.