Awesomely baked white fish

If you have run out of good ideas on how to cook the-much-needed-in-our-diet thing called fish and you are no longer bothered to use a fryer or a broiler or even your outdoor grill (!), then I'm telling you: this is an awesome recipe for any white fish and oh god so easy to make. I just tried it out and it is such a good alternative for cooking a fish. I found it on Jamie's website and I think the use of chili makes all the difference. In fact you don't need to use a fresh one, I used a pinch of this store-bought ready ground red chili powder and it turned out just fiiiiiine..I used about 1.5 lbs (about 600gr) of tilapia (4 fillets) and 1 can of 950gr of whole marzano tomatoes which you then try to smash/squeeze them in the pan. I also used ground basil instead of fresh one (sorry none of it in my pantry guys)..The overall taste is sweet and tangy with a bit of a swing from the chili that makes the specific "boring" fish full of flavor. Enjoy!


White baked fish (adapted by Jamie Oliver)

3 cloves garlic
1 small bunch fresh basil
olive oil
1 fresh red chilli
2x 400 g tinned plum tomatoes
sea salt
fresh ground black pepper
red wine vinegar
4x 150 g white fish fillets , such as coley, whiting or pollock, from sustainable sources, ask your fishmonger, skin off and bones removed
1 handful black olives , stone in
1 tablespoon capers , drained


To make your sauce:

Peel and finely slice the garlic cloves. Pick the basil leaves and put aside, finely slice the stalks.

Add a good couple of lugs of olive oil to a large pan on medium heat. Add the garlic and basil stalks. Pierce the chilli once with a knife so it doesn’t explode when frying, and add to the pan. Fry gently until the garlic is soft but not coloured, stirring occasionally.

Add the tins of tomato and season lightly with the salt and pepper. Gently simmer on low heat for 30 minutes. Remove the chilli. Break and mush the tomatoes with a wooden spoon. Season the sauce really carefully with more salt and pepper, if needed, and add a tiny swig of red wine vinegar to give it a little twang.

To prepare and cook your fish:

Preheat the oven to 220°C/425°F/gas 7.

Pour your tomato sauce into a roasting tray (about 20cm x 30cm). Season the fish fillets on both sides with a little salt and pepper, then place on top of the sauce. Squash the olives, using the base of a jar or something heavy, and remove the stones. Sprinkle the olives and capers over the fish. Scatter the reserved basil leaves over the fish.

Cook in the oven for around 15 minutes or until the fish is cooked through (check by cutting into the thickest part of one or two of the fillets; they should be pearly white and not transparent). Lovely served with new potatoes and a green salad. (I did the first one ;))