Recipe: Sea Bass en Papillote & Hasselback Potatoes

‍Method

Get prepared

1. Heat the oven to 180°C fan-assisted/200°C conventional.
2. Cut out 4 discs of greaseproof paper about 30 cm in diameter or at least 5 cm wider than the fillet when folded. The discs will be folded in half over the fish, so place them on appropriately sized baking sheets before filling them so there is no need to move them afterwards. You may need 1 or 2 baking sheets, depending on the width of your oven.

Prepare and cook the hasselback potatoes

1. Use a wooden spoon to ground the potato.  This will help create a curved surface.  Slice each potato thinly around 2-3m m between slices and about two-thirds in depth. You need to keep the bottom of the potato intact, so don’t try to go through the base.
2. Put into a roasting tin, toss the potatoes with oil and season generously.
3. Add a small amount of picked thyme to the roasting tin and coat the potatoes well.
4. Put the potatoes in the top third of the oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour.
5. Remove from the oven and serve whilst still hot.

Prepare and roast the plum tomatoes and garlic

1. Line a large baking sheet with non-stick baking parchment. Use a little olive oil to help stick the parchment to the baking sheet if necessary.
2. Cut the plum tomatoes into quarters, then remove and discard the seeds. Add the tomato petals to the parchment-lined baking tray skin side down. 
3. Peel and finely slice the garlic.  Place the garlic slices, olive oil, sugar and basil sprig over the tomato petals and season well.
4. Roast in the oven for about 20-30 minutes, or until the tomatoes have dried out and caramelised a little.

Roast the cherry tomatoes and make the filling

1. Cut the cherry tomatoes. Add them to the plum tomatoes and roast for the final 10-15 minutes. Adding the vine will bring more flavour to the tomatoes during roasting.
2. They should just start to soften but keep their shape. Remove from the oven and discard the basil and tomato sprigs.  Carefully transfer to a bowl, add the pernod, sherry vinegar and olives, then set aside for the flavours to marinate.
3. Check on the potatoes as you do this and remove them from the oven if necessary. Use a skewer to pierce the potatoes. You can return them to the oven 10 minutes before service to warm them up. 

Make up the en papillote parcels

1. Increase the oven temperature to 200°C fan-assisted, 220°C conventional.
2. Look over the fish fillets and ensure they have no bones - trim if necessary.
3. Place a quarter of the tomato mixture on one-half of each paper circle, just above the fold line. Add some fresh basil.  Place a fillet skin side up on top of the tomato mixture.
4. Fold the paper in half over the fish fillet and fold the two open sides together, aim to make small, crisp folds to seal the parcel. Try to leave a gap all around the fish as the steam will cook the fish quickly as it circulates around the parcel, keeping it moist and allowing all the flavours to permeate the flesh.  Before you seal the parcel completely, add in some extra liquid from the filling. Then, continue assembling the remaining parcels.
5. Transfer the parcels to the oven and cook for 10-15 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fish.   The fish are cooked when they feel firmer and have lost the ‘jelly-like’ texture.
6. You can return the potatoes back into the oven at this point to warm them up for service. 

Service

1. Serve immediately, still in the parcels so everyone can fully appreciate the wonderful aroma as they open it up. Serve with the roasted hasselback potatoes.