FOOD: Banded morwong en papillote. David Moyle

Serves 4

– 1 knob ginger

– 1 clove garlic

– 1 head fennel

– 1 lemon

– 1 medium-sized morwong (or other inshore species)

– 100ml olive oil

– salt and pepper

Heat your oven to 190ºC.

Slice the ginger, garlic, fennel and lemon. Using the side of a heavy knife or a rolling pin give those aromatics a firm hit to break the cell structure a little.

Prepare the fish by removing the scales, guts and gills. Trim the fins and give it a gentle wash (in seawater, if possible) then dab it dry with paper towel or cloth. Score the flesh at three-centimetre intervals across the fish on both sides and place on a sheet of greaseproof paper cut to the same size as the fish.

Lay two sheets of the light parchment paper on a bench then transfer the fish to the parchment. Stuff the fish with the aromatics and place some underneath it to protect it from the heat of the tray, then drizzle the fish with half of the olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Draw the edges of the paper up as though making a pastie or a dumpling and crimp together or scrunch to form a seal.

Place into the oven and cook for 20 minutes, depending on the size of the fish. The fish in this recipe was 700g and took 16 minutes to cook, but the results will vary wildly according to size and species. My general rule with cooking fish on the bone is to take it a little further, so as to get heat into the centre, which warms the collagen and connective tissue.

Once cooked, reveal the fish at the table, then finish with the rest of the olive oil and more seasoning.