This dish was created while we were taking a little break at nearby Loch Sport. The colours on the plate remind me of this stunningl sunset, captured beautifully on camera by Gary, on the evening that the recipe came to be.
Sunset over Lake Wellington (Photo taken by Gary Malyon)
With our favourite fish and what veg I had at hand, the recipe just evolved and was delicious! The chilli sauce used, was my own homemade version, one that my Gary says needs to come with a warning!
A recipe created using one of our favourite fish and what was to hand...
- 1/2 butternut pumpkin
- 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 garlic clove finely chopped
- 1 tsp finely grated orange zest
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 sprigs of thyme leaves removed
- 1/4 tsp salt flakes
- freshly ground black pepper
- 1 medium fennel bulb very thinly sliced
- 12 Brussels sprouts trimmed and quartered
- 1 small orange sliced into 1/4 cm thick rounds
- 2 tbsp sweet chilli sauce
- 1 garlic clove finely chopped
- 1 tsp finely grated orange zest
- 4 (175g) Duck Fish fillets or other firm firm fish such as Snapper or Blue Eye Cod
- 4 sprigs thyme
- Salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper to season
-
Preheat oven to 200˚C
-
Cut the solid end of the pumpkin into 1.2cm thick slices and peel. Retain the remaining pumpkin
-
Place the pumpkin into a shallow baking dish, drizzle with 1 tbsp of the olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
-
Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes
-
Meanwhile peel the remaining pumpkin and cut into 2 cm pieces.
-
Select a basin large enough to hold the vegetables and then add the garlic, orange zest, olive oil, thyme leaves, 1/2 tsp salt and a good grinding of black pepper, stirring well to combine. Add the pumpkin pieces, fennel and Brussel sprouts and toss well to coat.
-
Scatter the coated vegetables and the orange slices onto the baking tray with the partially cooked pumpkin, and return to the oven for a further 10-15 minutes, until the pumpkin is just cooked and the Brussels sprouts are beginning to char.
-
Place the fish fillets into the bowl that the vegetables had been in and toss to coat with the residual oil and seasonings.
-
Combine the sweet chilli sauce, garlic and orange zest together in a small dish.
-
Once the pumpkin is just cooked through, remove the baking dish from the oven and arrange the fish in amongst the vegetables. Top each fillet of fish with some of the chilli sauce mixture and a sprig of thyme.
-
Return the baking tray to the oven and continue to cook until the fish is just cooked through, approximately 10 minutes.
-
To serve, arrange the pumpkin slices on individual serving plates and top with a fillet of the fish, a slice of orange and a sprig of thyme. Finally scatter around the pumpkin pieces, Brussels sprouts and fennel.
Duck Fish is also known as Boar Fish.
Baked Duck Fish with Pumpkin, Brussel Sprouts, Fennel and Orange
Baked Duck Fish with Pumpkin, Brussel Sprouts, Fennel and Orange
Until next time…
Bon appétit!
Links:
Fennel, Apple and Orange Slaw.
The next morning I was up early studying again, before everyone else was out of bed. I had set the table for breakfast the previous night after everyone had gone to bed, so all I had to do in the morning was set the brioche in the oven to warm, slice the bread, put out a plate of sliced cheese, as well as the yoghurt and stewed fruit. People slowly started to appear and when we were all ready, we sat down to another great meal time of food and great conversation. I had to quickly excuse myself (and leave them to clean up) as I had my French Lesson at 10:30. You know, I think I am starting to get it a little!
the previous night, sliced ham, homemade bread, and one of the smoked sweet potatoes roughly mashed, topped with some homemade cheese, diced red capsicum, finely diced green chilli and a sprinkling of piment d’espelette (French chilli powder) and baked in the oven. The general consensus was that the salad had developed in flavour and improved even more since the night before.
