Gurnard with tomato, mint and orange salad

Tamara West

Salad

4	Large ripe tomatoes
1	Shallot, finely sliced
1 pinch	Dried chilli flakes
4	Oranges
1 tsp	Dijon mustard
¼ cup	Extra virgin olive oil
¼ cup	Fresh mint, finely shredded
1 head	Baby cos lettuce, leaves separated

Fish

4 fillets	Gurnard, large, or 8 if small (Main)
25 g	Butter

Directions

1. Cut tomatoes into quarters, discard seeds and dice. Place in a bowl with the sliced shallot and chilli. Grate in the zest of 1 orange.
2. Working over a small bowl to collect the juice, segment the oranges. (Cut a slice from the top and bottom, then using a sharp knife or small serrated knife, cut away the peel following the curve of the orange. Remove enough peel so you take the white pith with you, leaving the flesh exposed. Cut down the side of a segment and then down the other side releasing it from its membrane.) Place segments in with the tomato salad.
3. Whisk mustard and olive oil into the bowl of orange juice and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Taste and if you need more acidity, add a little lemon juice. Pour dressing over tomato and orange salad, add mint and toss gently. Place on each of 4 plates with some cos lettuce leaves.
4. Heat a large frying pan over a medium heat and add the butter. When the butter is sizzling place in the gurnard fillets and fry for 2-3 minutes, turning once. (Cooking time will depend on thickness of the fillets, but gurnard cooks quickly.) Place pan-fried fish beside the salad. Serve with small roasted or boiled potatoes to complete the meal.

Make a change

Use a punnet of cherry tomatoes and replace shallot with red onion or spring onion.