It's a bit chilly today, so a nice hot meal is the order of the day. However, if you don't feel like cooking a full meal, why not try this simple but tasty Mediterranean-style dish? It takes very little time to prepare, yet it tastes as if you've spent hours in the kitchen. It's a great alternative to a Sunday roast, when you want to eat like the Spanish do, and you can make it as cheap or as expensive as you want to. It's low in fat and calories, so although it tastes naughty, it won't do your waistline any damage.
Fish is much cheaper in Spain than in England, especially if you buy it from LIDL, Consum or Mercadona. In LIDL you can buy individually wrapped frozen fillets, or bags of frozen fillets. Consum and Mercadona have great fresh fish counters and also sell individual and bagged frozen fillets. Your fish meal can cost you as little as 2 Euro per serving, so what are you waiting for?
The beauty of this recipe is that you can use almost any white fish; cod, hake halibut and plaice all work well. As the cooking time is relatively short, go for a tail piece if using hake or cod. Serve with a jacket potato or potato wedges and peas or green beans. If you prefer it, you can serve with a large salad and a basket of fresh crusty bread. However you decide to serve this tasty dish, enjoy it!
These quantities serve 2 people:
• 2 fish fillets, about 250 – 350 grams total weight
• 1 large ripe tomato, sliced. (A beef tomato is ideal for this)
• Olive oil
• Balsamic vinegar
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Fresh or freeze dried parsley
Heat the oven to 200 degrees centigrade. Layer the tomato in a shallow oven proof dish, drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar and season generously.
Place the fish on top of the tomatoes and sprinkle with the parsley. Bake for around 15 minutes. Test with a fork to see if it’s cooked. The fish should be nice and white and should flake easily. If necessary, allow extra cooking time, but not too long – nothing’s worse than overcooked fish.
Using a fish slice and a spatula or cake slice, carefully lift each piece of fish with its bed of tomatoes. Pour the remaining cooking juices over the fish. Serve with a wedge of lemon or lime, and sit back and wait for the compliments!
