Mediterranean red mullet

The following recipe has typical Mediterranean ingredients: olive oil, red mullet, fennel, black olives, cherry tomatoes, garlic, and saffron. If you cannot find red mullet in your area, you could replace it with bream or some other firm- fleshed white fish.

I prefer to bake red mullet fillets in oven. They only need to be brushed with olive oil before baking, there is no need to add any salt because black olives contain enough salt. As the red mullet fillets in our supermarket in Nice are quite small, they only need to be baked for about 7- 8 minutes in 200° C.

2 servings

About 250- 300 g red mullet fillets
1 fennel
1 shallot, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
5- 7 new potatoes
About 10 cherry tomatoes
2 tbsp. pitted black olives
Olive oil
Freshly ground black pepper
1/3 tsp. saffron powder
Dill
Lemon wedges

Wash the potatoes and cut them into thick slices. Microwave with some water for about 5- 6 minutes until soft. Spread the slices on kitchen paper to dry.

Wash the fennel and cut into thick wedges. Microwave with a little water for about 5 minutes until soft, then let dry on kitchen paper.

Warm 3 tbsp. olive oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the minced shallot and garlic and sauté for about 5 minutes. Add the potatoes, fennel, cherry tomatoes, and black olives. Sprinkle the saffron over the vegetables and mix gently. Grind over some black pepper, cover, and reduce the heat. Let simmer.

Meanwhile bake the red mullet fillets. Spread the fillets on an oven tray covered with baking paper. Brush them with olive oil and bake for 7- 8 minutes.

Divide the vegetables on the plates and place the fish on top. Decorate with dill and serve with lemon wedges.