Mediterranean Fish & Chips
‘This recipe transports me straight to Greece, a simple restaurant perched on a jagged cliff above the emerald sea. Octopus hang on a clothes line in the sun and the smell of charcoal and lamb fat carries on the salty wind. A pack of playing cards sits on the table with grilled fish straight from the sea, served simply with fried potatoes, lemon and jaw dropping tomatoes. It’s a dish I love so much that it would be sad to only eat it on my rare holidays. Here’s how to make it at home.
Ideally, you’d cook the fish over charcoal outside in the sun, but roasting it in the oven works well too. Red mullet is a particular favourite, but I’d just ask your fishmonger what’s fresh that day.’
Ingredients
Serves 4
4 red mullet
Odysea extra virgin olive oil
aïoli
1 lemon, cut into wedges, for serving
For the oven chips
1kg potatoes (like Cyprus or Maris Piper), cut into
1.5–2cm thick chips
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
a few sprigs of fresh rosemary, leaves stripped and finely chopped
For the tomato salad
500g of the best tomatoes
you can find, in jaunty
chunks
2 tbsp capers
½ red onion, very finely
diced
1–2 tbsp quality red wine
vinegar
2 tbsp best olive oil
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 220°C fan.
- Line one or two large baking trays with baking parchment. Toss the potatoes with the olive oil and a generous pinch of salt, then spread out over the trays, making sure they are evenly spaced.
- Bake for 20–30 minutes, until golden and crisp at the edges, then turn and bake for a further 10–15 minutes on the other side. These are best when still chewy and soft with crisp edges; don’t be tempted to take them too far.
- As the chips bake, light the fire and prepare the tomato salad by simply mixing the ingredients in a bowl, seasoning
and adjusting to taste. - Once the coals of the fire are hot but softened (you should be able to hover your hand over the heat for 3–5 seconds), rub the fish with a little olive oil and lay it on the grill.
- Cook for a few minutes on each side, depending on the thickness, and don’t turn the fish until the skin is happy to release – if you have a fish basket, it will make this incredibly easy. Poke a skewer or sharp knife into the deepest point of the fish, leave for a few seconds, then put it to your lip. If it is warm, the fish is cooked.
- When the chips are golden and crisp, remove them from the oven and immediately sprinkle over the finely chopped rosemary.
- Serve the fish with the hot chips, tomato salad, aïoli and lemon wedges.