For a dinner party recipe that will knock your guests’ socks off, try this delicious fish dish.
Taken from Tom’s Table by Tom Kerridge (Absolute Press, £25.00)
Photography © Cristian Barnett
Ingredients
- 4 pollock fillets, about 250g each
- vegetable oil, for frying
- flaky sea salt
- For the dressing:
- 3 unwaxed oranges
- 100ml olive oil
- 150ml cider vinegar
- 75g caster sugar
- small bunch of dill, chopped, plus a few sprigs saved for the garnish
- 2tbsp Douglas fir pine needles, chopped (optional)
- For the coating:
- 175g coarse yellow cornmeal
- 40g plain flour
- 1tsp salt
- 1tsp cayenne pepper
- 1tsp garlic powder
- For the garnish:
- 1 orange, peeled, all pith removed and cut into segments
Method
First make the dressing. Pare the zest from 2 oranges with a vegetable peeler, keeping a little of the pith on, and cut into small dice. Place in a small saucepan, cover with the olive oil and heat very gently over a low heat, for 20 minutes or until the skin is just soft. Take off the heat and leave to cool.
Squeeze the juice from all the oranges and put into a small pan with the cider vinegar and sugar. Bring to the boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Let it bubble to reduce by two-thirds until thickened and syrupy. Pour into a bowl and allow to cool.
Add the orange zest and olive oil mix to the orange juice reduction and whisk to combine. Stir in the chopped dill and pine needles if using, and set aside until ready to serve.
For the fish coating, mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl. Heat about a 2cm depth of oil in a deep-sided frying pan or sauté pan until it reaches 180C. Use a frying thermometer to check the temperature, if you have one; otherwise drop a cube of dry white bread into the hot oil to test it – if the bread turns golden brown in just under a minute, the oil is ready.
Dust the fish fillets on both sides with the cornmeal coating, shaking off any excess. You may need to fry them in batches, depending on the size of your pan. Lay the fish in the pan and fry for 2-3 minutes on each side until the crust is crisp and golden brown. Using a fish slice, carefully transfer to a tray lined with kitchen paper to drain. Season lightly with salt.
Serve the pollock fillets on warmed plates, garnished with the orange segments and dill, with the dressing spooned over.
