FISH WITH CURRY SAUCE
A sustainable fish can be prepared whole or cut into portions and fried before topping with a curry sauce. Serves 4-6 Fish 1kg whole sustainable fish Salt and white pepper Sunflower or canola oil Curry sauce 45ml (3 tbsp) sunflower or canola oil
3 onions, peeled and sliced into rings, not too finely 3 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped A thumb-size piece of ginger, peeled and finely grated 20ml (4 tsp) black mustard seeds
12 black peppercorns
3 whole white cardamom pods
1 red chilli, de-seeded and finely chopped
3 bay leaves
30ml (2 tbsp) sugar
60ml (4 tbsp) rice vinegar or white wine vinegar
10ml (2 tsp) turmeric
7.5ml (1½ tsp) white pepper
10ml (2 tsp) cumin
10ml (2 tsp) mild curry powder
5ml (1 tsp) salt
Zest and juice of 4 limes (or use 3 lemons)
5ml (1 tsp) finely grated lime (or lemon) zest
A few large sprigs of lemon thyme
250ml (1 cup) water To serve Extra sprigs of fresh lemon thyme, and fresh lemon leaves Using a sharp knife, cut slits on the diagonal on each side of the fish without cutting right through. Season with salt and a little white pepper. Brush with oil on both sides and place on a piece of greaseproof paper on a large baking tray. Bake in a preheated oven at 180° C, turning after 10 -15 minutes and cook for a further 10 minutes. Take care not to over-cook the fish, or it will dry out. Remove from heat and set aside.
While the fish is cooking make the curry sauce. Heat 30ml of sunflower or canola oil in a pan over a medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, add the onion rings and fry, stirring now and then, for 2 minutes, but no longer (it’s important that the onions retain their crunch). Stir in the garlic and ginger and cook for another minute, without letting the garlic brown. Scrape the onions, garlic and ginger into a bowl and set aside.
Heat the remaining tablespoon of oil over medium-high heat in the same pan and add the mustard seeds, peppercorns, cardamom pods and red chilli. When the mustard seeds begin to crackle, add the bay leaves, sugar and vinegar. Bring to the boil, stir in the turmeric, white pepper, cumin, curry powder, salt and half a cup (125 ml) of water. Cook the mixture for 2-3 minutes on a rolling simmer until it has thickened slightly and the strong vinegar flavour has dissipated. Stir in the lime juice and zest, the lemon thyme sprigs, the remaining half-cup (125 ml) of water and the reserved onion/garlic/ginger mixture.
Simmer gently for another minute to heat through. Serve the sauce over the fish or separately. Good served with rice.