Pan-roasted kingfish with lemon, caper and crouton butter sauce

Pan-roasted kingfish with lemon, caper and crouton butter sauce

Here’s a classic French combination given an Aussie twist by using kingfish. It makes a really quick but classy main course for lunch or dinner. The delicious hiramasa (farmed kingfish from South Australia) we now have is great because it means there is a year-round supply of an otherwise seasonal fish and that the kingfish are always of a consistent size.

50 ml olive oil

4 × 200 g kingfish fillets, skin on

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

100 g unsalted butter, chopped

1 lemon, cut into segments (see page 209)

40 g salted baby capers, rinsed well

¹⁄³ cup chopped fl at-leaf parsley

mixed leaf salad, to serve

Croutons

2 tablespoons olive oil

20 g unsalted butter

4 slices good-quality white bread, crusts removed, cut into 5 mm cubes

 

1 Preheat the oven to 180°C.

2 To make the croutons, heat the olive oil and butter in a large ovenproof frying pan over medium heat. Add the bread and shake the pan for 5–6 minutes or until golden and crisp.

Drain on paper towel and wipe the pan clean.

3 Add the olive oil to the pan and place over medium heat. Season the fi sh with salt and pepper, then cook, skin-side down, for 4–5 minutes or until golden. Turn the fi sh over, then transfer the pan to the oven and cook the fish for 5 minutes or until it is just cooked through. Remove from the pan and place on serving plates.

4 Pour off any fat from the pan and return to low heat. Add the butter, and as soon as it starts to foam, add the lemon segments, capers, croutons and parsley and toss to combine well.

5 Pour the sauce over the fish fillets and serve immediately with a mixed leaf salad.

Serves 4 as a main