Pese con la salsa de Iolanda STEAMED SNAPPER WITH IOLANDA’S SAUCE Serves 6
1.2kg firm-fleshed white fish fillets, such as snapper or hapuka
Extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling
For the sauce
2 eggs, at room temperature 1 slice bread, crust removed
2 tbsp white wine vinegar 2 spring onions
1 heaped tbsp parsley leaves,
plus extra to serve
100ml extra virgin olive oil Pinch of sugar, to taste
Sea salt and freshly cracked
black pepper
1. Start by making the sauce. Place the eggs in a small saucepan and cover with water. Bring to the boil, then cover and remove from the heat. Allow the eggs to sit in the water for 10 minutes, to hard-boil them. Drain and allow to cool slightly before peeling and roughly chopping the eggs.
2. While the eggs are cooking, tear the bread into rough pieces and place in a small bowl. Pour the vinegar over and allow to soak for a few minutes.
3. Chop the white parts of the spring onions and place in a mini food processor. Chop the green parts and reserve for garnishing.
4. Add the eggs to the food processor, along with the bread (don’t drain it – it should have absorbed all the vinegar) and parsley.
Blend roughly; the mixture will be quite dry at this stage. Add
80ml (⅓ cup) of the olive oil and pulse until a thick sauce forms. If needed, add a little more of the oil – up to 1 tablespoon – to get the consistency to your liking. Add the sugar and salt and pepper to taste, then give it another pulse. Spoon into a small serving dish, garnish with the reserved spring onion and extra chopped parsley, and set aside while you steam the fish. 5. Pour 5cm of water into the bottom of your steamer (I improvise a steamer using a metal colander in a large saucepan). Bring to the boil and place the fish fillets in the steamer rack (or colander) and place in the pan. The base of the rack (or colander) should be above the water line, as you want the fish to cook via steam, not boil in the water.
6. Cover and reduce the heat so that the water simmers and continues to produce steam. The actual cooking time depends on the size of your fish fillets – anywhere between 4 and 10 minutes. The flesh should have turned completely white when you pierce the inner part, and easily flake with a fork.
7. Carefully remove the cooked fillets from the steamer and place on your serving plate. Drizzle with the remaining olive oil, garnish with extra parsley, sprinkle with sea salt, and pass the sauce around to spoon on top.