ROASTED SNAPPER FILLETS WITH LEEKS, GREEN OLIVES & BREADCRUMBS

SERVES 4

Any firm white-fleshed fish is good in this recipe, plus the sauce is also a great partner to chicken. For some extras on the side, serve with boiled and seasoned green beans or broccoli and roast potatoes.

extra virgin olive oil

2 leeks, white part only, trimmed, washed and cut into 5 mm (¼ inch) rounds

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

4 garlic cloves, crushed

8 large green olives, pitted and roughly chopped

1 tablespoon baby capers, rinsed and chopped

1 tablespoon flat-leaf (Italian) parsley, finely chopped

1 lemon

4 x 200 g (7 oz) snapper fillets, skin off

30 g (1 oz/½ cup) coarse fresh breadcrumbs, toasted

Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F/Gas 6).

Place a little oil in a non-stick frying pan over low heat. Add the leek, season with salt and cook gently for 20 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 5 minutes, then add the olives, capers and parsley and toss through. Drizzle with a little more oil and the juice of half the lemon and season with pepper. Set aside and keep warm (it can be reheated when the fish is ready to be served).

Place the fish in a roasting tin, drizzle with oil and sprinkle with salt. Roast in the oven for 8 minutes or until the fish is just cooked through.

Place a spoonful of the leek mixture in the middle of each of four plates, and top with a fish fillet, a little more of the leek mixture and a squeeze of lemon.

Finish with a drizzle of oil and a sprinkle of the breadcrumbs. Season with salt and pepper.

NOTE: Place a straightened paperclip or cake tester into the fish to check whether it is cooked – the fish should still have resistance when you remove it from the oven. If it is perfectly cooked in the oven it will be overcooked by the time it gets to the table. Black olives and roasted cherry tomatoes are nice additions.