Sorry I haven’t posted in a while, the last-minute rush before Christmas is always the busiest time and I’ve been eating out a lot 😉 Make sure you buy good quality potatoes and fresh fish.

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INGREDIENTS

5 X 150g hake fillets, skin off and cut in half
1 lemon, sliced
1/2 a bunch fresh basil
4 garlic cloves, crushed
1 bay leaf
1 tbsp dried mixed herbs
Garlic salt
Olive oil
2 brown onions, sliced
Course sea salt & black pepper
2 large potatoes, quartered
1 punnet baby tomatoes

For the basil dressing:

The other half of the basil leaves, roughly chopped
1-2 red chillies, chopped
The Juice of half a lemon
2-3 tbsp olive oil
Course sea salt & black pepper
1/2  tsp xylitol

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METHOD
Serve 4
Preparation 25 minutes
Cooking time 25 minutes
Total time 50 minutes

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Preheat the oven to 180°C.

Boil the kettle and wash the potatoes, quarter them and place in a medium-sized pot, add boiling water a large pinch of salt, cover and boil for 20-25 minutes, or until soft.

Place a non-stick frying pan on high heat, add 1 tbsp olive oil and fry the onions, add the crushed garlic and fry for 7 minutes. Add a little of the dried mixed herbs and stir occasionally, you might need to add a dash of water if the onions start sticking.

Once the potatoes have cooked, rinse them under cold water and slice them into small disks. Slice the lemons and wash the basil, place the lemons in a medium-sized casserole dish, top with potatoes, half the onions and half the basil leaves.

Cover the fish with a generous pinch of salt, black pepper, the dried mixed herbs and a sprinkle of garlic salt. Place the fish on top of the basil a long with the rest of the cooked onions, baby tomatoes and the bay leaf  and cover in 1.5 cups of boiling chicken stock or until the fillets are half emerged.

Bake for 25 minutes, or until the fish is flakey.  Check on the fish after 15 minutes and pour some of the stock over it.

To make the basil dressing:

Roughly chop the rest of the basil with the chilli, place in a small bow add the olive oil, xylitol, lemon juice, sea salt and black pepper. Stir and taste to see if the flavour needs adjusting. Take to the table.

Take the casserole dish to the table, top with the basil dressing . I served the fish in a bowl with some fresh bread for the boys.