Catalan Poached Fish Salad
Easy
Prep 20 min Cook 20 min
This is a delicious healthy salad that was inspired by a Catalan poached fish dish I had in Spain on one of my Spanish Food Tours. It was served as a tapa and everyone absolutely loved it. It was so enjoyable I decided to take the elements and turn it into more of a substantial dish. Like all Mediterranean dishes, this can be enjoyed on the day that it’s made or even better serve it the next day when all of the wonderful flavours of the salad have had a chance to marinate together.
Ingredients
- 600g firm white fish fillets such as coral trout, snapper, Dory or Perch
- About 1.5lt of water
- 1/2 cup white wine
- 2 pepper corns
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 bay leaf
- 4 parsley sprigs
- 1 large tomato, *blanched, peeled and seeded
- 200g cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1 stalk celery, thinly sliced
- 1/2 red onion, sliced thinly
- 1 tbsp salted capers, rinsed and roughly chopped
- 10 leaves of basil, torn
- 1/4 cup picked parsley leaves
- 4 large cooked prawns
For the dressing
- 1/4 cup 60ml extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1\2 lemon, peeled and thinly sliced into 1-2mm slices
- Salt and pepper
- Pinch chili flakes
Recipe Steps
- Place the water, wine, pepper corns, bay leaf, garlic and parsley into a frypan large enough to hold the fish fillets, bring the water to a boil over a moderate flame and then lower the heat to a simmer and simmer for 15 minutes.
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Lower the heat further until just rolling over and slide in the fish fillets. Poach for 4-5 minutes each side depending on the thickness of the fillets (basically you want the fish to easily flake apart) Remove the fish from the pan and set aside to cool.
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Prepare the salad by slicing the blanched* tomato into quarters and then into thin slices., place this into a serving bowl or platter.
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Start layering the halved cherry tomatoes, sliced celery, onion, capers, torn basil and roughly chopped parsley.
Combine the ingredients for the dressing adding a couple of tablespoons of the seafood cooking liquid. Add this to the salad adjusting the seasoning if necessary and gently toss to mix.
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In a separate bowl combine the chili flakes with the olive oil, lemon juice, lemon slices and season well with salt and pepper. Pour the dressing over the salad, flake in the poached cooled fish and toss gently to cover with the dressing. Garnish with the cooked prawns and serve.
* To blanch tomatoes, start by trimming off the stems and cutting a small “x” into the bottom of each tomato. Then, put the tomatoes in a pot of boiling water and let them cook for 30 seconds. After 30 seconds, use tongs to transfer the tomatoes to a bowl of ice water so they stop cooking. Remove the tomatoes from the iced water, you will easily be able to remove the skin. Cut the tomatoes in half, remove the seeds and inside membrane with a spoon and you should be left with the just the flesh of the tomato.
Sometimes I will add boiled potatoes to the salad, an addition that really makes this more substantial. Serve this with crusty bread and a glass of white wine and you have a really delicious simple summery meal.