Recipe
Fish puttanesca with garlic and chive bread
Forget the fancy techniques and the long grocery list – this recipe delivers massive, savory flavor with the kind of "no-fuss" speed a busy night actually requires.
By Elizabeth Hewson
This is a one-pot fish dish with all the punchy, briny flavours of a puttanesca – anchovies, olives, capers, chilli and a good hit of garlic – only here, they’re wrapped around fillets of fish instead of pasta. Like puttanesca, which was famously thrown together from pantry staples, this comes together with little effort but delivers big on flavour. A side of garlic bread to mop up the sauce is non-negotiable for me.
Ingredients to make fish puttanesca with garlic and chive bread recipe
Serves 4
3 tablespoons olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
4 anchovy fillets
pinch of dried chilli flakes (optional), plus extra to serve
1⁄3 cup (80 ml) dry white wine
1 × 400 g (14 oz) can cherry tomatoes
200 g (7 oz) whole cherry tomatoes
½ cup (90 g) Italian black or green olives, pitted
2 tablespoons capers in vinegar, drained
½ cup (about 20 g) basil leaves, plus extra to serve
½ teaspoon caster (superfine) sugar
4 × centre-cut fillets of firm white fish (ling, Murray cod, blue-eye trevalla, etc.) or pink-fleshed fish (trout or salmon)
1 lemon, for zesting
Garlic and chive bread
60 g (2¼ oz) salted butter, at room temperature
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
3 tablespoons (½ bunch) finely chopped chives
1 small loaf ciabatta or baguette (around 30 cm/12 inches)
Get ahead: Prep the sauce without the fish up to 3 days in advance. The garlic bread can be made but not baked, and kept in the freezer for 3 months (bake from frozen for 25–30 minutes). When you’re ready to use it, bring the sauce up a simmer – you might need to add a splash of wine or water – before adding the fish and proceeding with the recipe.
Note: If you’re feeding fewer people, just use two fillets, but keep the quantity of sauce the same. The dish will be saucier, but that’s not a bad thing, as you’ll soon taste.
How to make fish puttanesca with garlic and chive bread recipe
Preheat the oven to 180°C (350˚F) fan-forced.
In a large frying pan with a lid, heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic, anchovies and chilli flakes, if using. Cook for 1–2 minutes, stirring to help the anchovies melt into the oil. Pour in the white wine and let it bubble, simmering for about 2 minutes until it starts to reduce.
Add the canned cherry tomatoes, then rinse out the can with about ¼ cup (60 ml) water and pour that in too. Stir in the whole cherry tomatoes, olives, capers, half the basil, and the sugar. Taste, and add a pinch of salt if needed. Cover and let it simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens slightly.
Meanwhile, for the garlic and chive bread, mash the butter, garlic and chives together in a bowl. Slice the baguette into 1 cm (½ inch) pieces, stopping just before the base so the baguette stays intact. Using a teaspoon, smear the garlic butter between the slices. Wrap the bread in foil and bake for 15 minutes, until the butter has melted. Open up the foil slightly so the top of the bread is exposed and cook for a further 5 minutes, until golden and toasted.
Once the sauce has had its 10 minutes, nestle in the fish. Season each piece with salt, pepper and a lick of the remaining olive oil, then lay the remaining basil leaves over the top. Reduce the heat to low, put the lid back on, and poach the fish gently for 6–8 minutes, until it is opaque and flakes easily with a fork.
When the fish is ready, zest some lemon over the top and serve, spooning the sauce over the fish. Scatter with extra basil leaves, a pinch of dried chilli and a final drizzle of olive oil. Serve with the warm garlic and chive bread to mop up every bit.
Images and text from Home Food by Elizabeth Hewson, photography by Nikki To. Murdoch Books RRP $45.00.
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