Phil Vickery's Good Friday fish feast
Phil’s taking the stress out of Easter feasting with his super simple fish supper - herbs, potatoes and fish baked in the oven for a speedy but impressive meal, and the best part, there'll be hardly any washing up!
Basil crusted hake with potatoes
Serve 4-6
Ingredients
750g baking potatoes, roughly 6, washed really well skin on and sliced very thinly
6 red onions peeled and sliced thinly
3 red peppers, sliced open and flattened
3 yellow peppers, sliced open and flattened
6 tbsp roughly chopped parsley
extra virgin olive oil
2 x fish stock cubes
Boiling water
Salt
Ground pepper
1 x 700g fillet large hake, skin on but pin boned
1-2tsp Dijon mustard, as a seasoning
8 tbsp panko breadcrumbs
4 tbsp chopped fresh basil
2 cloves garlic, crushed really finely
Mayonnaise
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 220C gas 7.
2. Take a 30cm x 40cm baking tray.
3. Lay a layer of half the thinly sliced potatoes overlapping nicely. Add half the chopped parsley. Sprinkle with a little salt, pepper and oil. Then add a layer of half the sliced onions, then 3 opened out and flattened peppers. Sprinkle with a little salt, pepper and oil. Next add the rest of the potatoes, last of the parsley and sprinkle with a little salt, pepper and oil. Finally add the last of the red onions and the last 3 peppers, sprinkle with a little salt, pepper and oil. Press down with a potato masher.
4. Dissolve the crumbled fish stock cubes in roughly 750mls boiling water. Pour over the vegetables. Cover with foil and bake in the oven for 35-40 minutes, or until all the veg are cooked. Remove the foil and re-bake until the stock is well reduced, probably a further 15-20 minutes pressing down occasionally so you end up with a pressed cake texture.
5. Once ready, cut your hake into two fillets or fillets fit your dish, then place the hake fillets skin side down on top of the potatoes, then season with salt and pepper and spread the Dijon mustard onto the fillets.
6. Mix the garlic, breadcrumbs and basil well and sprinkle over the hake and return to the oven and cook for approximately 8 -10 minutes, until the internal temperature reaches 48C, or slightly undercooked.
7. Remove from the oven and serve immediately from the tray. Phil serves with mayonnaise.