The Southern Hemisphere is tilting generously towards the sun as we relish longer days to do the things we love. Many (including me and family) will make an annual migration to somewhere near our bounteous coastline where we look to the ocean to provide our families with some of its fruits.
This dish is an expression of what summer means to me and is one best shared with the people who helped catch it. I have made it using skin-on snapper, but the salad is quite versatile and will go well with most fish.
Snapper with salad and bread
Serves 4
4 fillets of skin-on snapper (or whatever fish you have in the chilly bin)
1 lemon
4 slices of sourdough
120g soft goat curd
2 garlic cloves
butter
Dressing
2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
1 Tbsp pomegranate molasses
Squirt lemon juice
3 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
Pinch chilli flakes
Salad
250g cherry tomatoes
300g watermelon
1 Tbsp capers, roughly chopped
Bunch oregano leaves or a pinch of dried oregano
What to do
1. In a small bowl, add the vinegar, pomegranate molasses, chilli flakes and lemon juice. Slowly pour in the extra-virgin olive oil and whisk to emulsify.
2. Cut the cherry tomatoes in half and add to a mixing bowl. Then cut the watermelon into cubes roughly the same size as the cherry tomato halves, add to the bowl with the tomatoes. Roughly chop the oregano and toss through the tomatoes and watermelon, then fold through the dressing.
3. Brush or dip 4 slices of sourdough in olive oil, stack them together then press down firmly for the oil to intersperse. Cook on a medium to high heat on the barbecue or under the grill until the bread has a deep golden colour on both sides and has become ridged. Rub a garlic clove into the toasted bread, then smear with the goat curd, and microplane a touch of lemon zest on top.
4. Heat a cast iron skillet to medium to high heat. Pat the fish dry using a paper towel and season the skin side with flaky salt. Once the pan has reached a high heat, add enough olive oil to just cover the base and no more. Lay the fish skin side down and press using a weighted pot or fish weight (if your pan isn’t large enough to fit all four pieces do it in 2 rounds). When the fish is half cooked through, add a few good knobs of butter; when it’s foaming nicely and a light brown colour, flip the fish, baste for a few seconds then remove from the pan. Squeeze the lemon juice into the pan to deglaze, emulsify by stirring, then pour the sauce over the fish.
5. Place the fish on top of a mound of fresh salad. Cut the sourdough in half and make a nice stack in the centre of the table.
kingi
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