Pan Fried Snapper with Roasted Ratatouille
Serves: 2
Time: 35 mins
A traditional ratatouille is more like a stew, we have all the common ingredients for ratatouille but if you roast all the vegetables together as I have done today, the oil from the eggplant seeps back out and turns the whole tray into a delicious wet mix. You get a very similar result but instead, it’s lovely and chunky. We are going to roast the veg to what I would call very well done, to the where all the veggies are only just holding there shape.
Leftovers
This dinner only does make enough for 2 and I wouldn’t recommend cold snapper the next day so perhaps a jar of overnight oats for tomorrow.
What you'll need
2 pieces of snapper skin on, approx 600g
1 red onion
6 cloves of garlic
4 sprigs of oregano
1 medium eggplant
2 zucchini
1 red pepper
1 packet of baby roma vine tomatoes
1/4 bunch of basil
1 lemon
From the Pantry
olive oil
butter
salt and pepper
Optional extras for Lunch
ingredients for overnight oats
Prep and Cook
Rice For Lunch?
In a large pot completely cover the rice with water and add a pinch of salt. Bring to the boil and cook till al dente.
Make Ratatouille
Preheat oven to 200
Slice eggplant into long wedges and toss in enough oil to completely coat. Let sit for a bit to gauge if they are going to dry out and need more oil.
Slice the courgette into chunky rounds.
Cut the red pepper into large wedgy chunks.
Peel the red onion and slice in half then each half into 6 pieces.
Peel the garlic.
Toss all the veg into the same bowl as the eggplant and add enough oil to lightly coat, season with salt and pepper and toss together well.
Layout on an oven tray lined with baking paper and scatter over the oregano.
Roast for 30 minutes.
Cook Fish
Don't Move Your Fish
It is really important in order to get a lovely finish that you don't turn your fish over until it has almost 80% cooked all the way up. You will notice the creamy white colour growing up the sides of the fish.
In a large non stick fry pan heat 1 tablespoon of oil on a high heat.
Check your fish doesn’t have any bones.
Season both sides generously.
Lay fish in the hot pan skin side down and apply pressure with either your hand (if your brave) or your flipper. Apply pressure until you can feel that the fish no longer wants to curl up and is laying nice and flat in the pan.
Once you can see the fish has coloured and is cooked almost the whole way through your fish( you want to only have a thick strip of raw showing on top), add 1 large tablespoon of butter to the pan and squeeze the juice of half a lemon.
Swill the pan to combine.
Now very gently test to see if your fish pulls away from the pan, if it does you can flip it, if not leave for a touch longer.
Once flipped use a dessert spoon to ladle those lovely juices over the fish repetitively for about 10 seconds or so then remove from the heat.
Plate it Pretty
Spoon a good large portion of ratatouille into the centre of your plate then bunch some rocket on top and gently lay over your fish, ladle over some of the buttery goodness and serve with lemon.
Enjoy!
Lunch tomorrow
Are you making overnight oats?
Here is the recipe