Recipe: Vicki Ravlich-Horan | Photography: Brydie Thompson
Delicious sweet cherry tomatoes melt down to create a divine sauce to lightly cook or poach fresh fish in for the ultimate summer dish.
25g butter
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
½ red onion, or 1 shallot
1 garlic clove
2 cups of cherry tomatoes
½ cup chicken stock (I used Restore Cheeky Chicken Bone Broth)
6 fillets of fresh fish*
basil pesto
In a large pan melt the butter with the olive oil. Add the finely sliced red onion or shallot and finely chopped garlic. Cook gently for 2 minutes.
Add the tomatoes and chicken stock and simmer for 15‒20 minutes.
While the tomatoes are cooking, smear one side of the fish fillets with pesto and roll them up, securing with a tooth pick. Once the tomatoes have started to break down, position the fish amongst the sauce. Cover the pan with a lid and cook for 5‒10 minutes (depending on the size of your fish). Remove the cooked fish from the pan and place on the plate, carefully removing the toothpicks. Check and season the sauce to taste before pouring over the fish. Serve with rice or a lush green salad and fresh bread.
*Go for white fleshed fish with thin fillets like tarakihi, gurnard or snapper. Or try a lesser known variety and ease the burden on these popular catches by using porae.
