Oven-Baked Fish with Tomato & Parsley

At this time of year rather than thinking "what shall I cook for tea" I'm more often wondering "what can I cook for tea that goes with Jersey Royals". As a native (albeit it living overseas) I admit I'm bit biased but the annual arrival of these wonderful potatoes in the shops, like the asparagus and strawberries that are also beginning to appear, is cause for celebration. Their firm texture and buttery flavour are not to be missed at this time of year.

This particular recipe is a perfect partner for my favourite potatoes and comes from one of my favourite take-to-bed cookbooks (I'm surely not the only person who loves to curl up in bed with a pile of recipe books to leaf through!), Falling Cloudberries by Tessa Kiros. A lot of the recipes aren't the sort of things I would usually cook but the layout and photographs are lovely and it's a great inspiration when I want to try something different.

The simple ingredients in this recipe and combine to provide some wonderful flavours and the colours are enough to brighten up the chilliest spring day. It's a great way of turning a plain piece of fish into something a bit special.

Oven-Baked Fish with Tomato & Parsley
(adapted from Falling Cloudberries by Tessa Kiros)

1kg/ 2lb 4oz firm white fish fillets cut into 6cm pieces
400g tin tomatoes with juice, chopped (or very ripe tomatoes peeled and chopped) - I used whole tomatoes but by-passed the peeling part
15g/1/4 cup chopped parsley
4 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
juice of 2 lemons
2 celery stalks, chopped, with some leaves
1 teaspoon sugar
3 tablespoons olive oil

1) Preheat the oven to 180c/350f/gas 4. Put the fish in an oven dish where they will fit in a single layer. Mix together the tomatoes, parsley, garlic, lemon juice, celery, sugar and olive oil and add seasoning to taste.

2) Pour over the fish so that all pieces are covered, cover with foil and bake for about 30 minutes.

3) Remove the foil, increase the heat to 200c/400f/gas 6 and bake for a further 40-50 minutes, or until the liquid has thickened and the top of the fish is golden in a couple of places.

4) Serve with new potatoes or some crusty bread.

Serves 4 - 6