Pan Fried Red Mullet with a Fennel, Blood Orange and Caper Butter

By Troy Rhoades-Brown from Muse Restaurant, Cafe and Kitchen for Hunter Culinary Association’s 6th Annual Food Fight

Pan Fried Red Mullet with a Fennel, Blood Orange and Caper Butter

Pan Fried Red Mullet with a Fennel, Blood Orange and Caper Butter. This quick and easy fish dish uses in season fennel and blood orange and is ready in under 30 minutes.

This recipe was developed by Troy Rhoades-Brown from Muse Restaurant, Cafe and Kitchen to celebrate the Hunter Culinary Association’s 6th Annual Food Fight. For more information about the event, please visit http://www.hunterculinary.com.au/

Serves four | Prep time: 15 minutes | Cooking time: 10 minutes

1kg red mullet fillets (ask your fish monger to scale and fillet for you)

4 bulbs of baby fennel

4 blood orange

1 bunch curly parsley

5g sea salt flakes

25g baby capers

6 turns of the pepper mill

1 bunch watercress

50g toasted almond

80g salted butter
Lightly score the skin of the red mullet with a sharp knife taking care not to cut through the flesh, set aside at room temperature.

Place the fennel bulbs upright on your chopping board and slice fine leaving the core intact when possible. Chop the parsley fine then add the zest of two blood oranges.

Remove the skin from all the blood oranges and roughly slice into pieces.

Take a large non-stick fry pan and place on a medium-high heat.

Salt and pepper the skin of the red mullet.

Add a small amount of vegetable oil to the pan and place the red mullet skin side down for approximately 4 minutes. Once you have achieved a lovely crispy skin, flip the fish and cook for a further 1 minute. Remove the fish from the pan and rest on some paper towel.

Add your sliced fennel to the same hot pan and cook for 1 minute. Remove the pan from the heat and add your butter, capers, parsley, zest and blood orange.

Place the fish on the plate, spoon over your blood orange and fennel butter. Garnish with toasted almonds and watercress.

Chef tips:

• This dish is so versatile, if you can’t find red mullet use your favourite fish. I recommend ocean trout, Spanish mackerel, John Dory or whiting
• If you can’t find blood oranges some good ruby navel oranges will be just as good. Depending on your guests I also like to sneak a little bit of chopped anchovy into the butter as well.
• Coming into spring this makes for a fantastic lunch or dinner. Serve with a potato salad and a bowl of mixed leaves.

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