Butterfish baked with white wine, miso and watercress
Butterfish baked in white wine and miso
There is simply nothing better than fresh fish (or any seafood for that matter) - We made this recipe on the east coast of South Africa from fish I caught with a speargun an hour previously. The recipe here includes instructions for processing fish from scratch, but obviously if you can get your fishmonger to do it for you, go for it. Baking fish with a liquid base is my favourite way of doing them, you get a perfectly cooked, buttery fish with little effort and no burnt/dry bits. Bake for 12 minutes for each 2.5 cm of fish thickness, as a general rule.
Servings 2
Ingredients
- 2 very fresh, white fleshed fish, use one per person or 1/2 per person if using large fish.
- a blob Miso - we used dark, but light will work well too.
- 1 cup Dry white wine
- 1 big handful watercress
- 2 or 3 Zucchini
- 3 tbsp naturally brewed soya sauce
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180C.
- First scale your fish - Lay the fish on a flat surface and put your palm flat on the tail of the fish. Use a butter knife with the blade held perpendicular to the body of the fish to scrape the scales off in sharp strokes from the tail end towards the head. Gut the fish by slicing open the belly from the butthole to the bone near the head, scoop the guts out with your fingers, making sure you pull the liver and the oesophagus out. Wash the fish thoroughly after scaling and gutting.
- Place the fish in a baking pan with a lid, dissolve the soya sauce, wine and miso together and pour over the fish. Slice the zucchini and watercress and throw over the fish.Cover with a lid, and bake for 12-15 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fish. The fish is done when the large flakes separate when you pull them gently with a fork.
- Serve with a fresh green salad and a cold sauvignon blanc.
