Name: Sicilian snapper with zucchini, mint and pistachio nuts
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 25 min
Yield: 4
Ingredients: 4 zucchini, thinly sliced lengthways on a mandoline; 2 tbsp olive oil, plus extra for frying; 1 cup mint (firmly packed); 1 golden shallot, thinly sliced on a mandoline; 35 gm pistachio nuts, coarsely chopped, plus extra to serve (¼ cup); 4 snapper fillets, such as ruby snapper (about 180gm each), skin on; Currant and anchovy dressing; 2 tbsp currants; 80 ml extra-virgin olive oil (⅓ cup); 2 tbsp baby salted capers, rinsed and coarsely chopped; 3 anchovy fillets, finely chopped; 1 small garlic clove, crushed; ½ tsp dried chilli flakes; Finely grated rind and juice of ½ lemon, plus lemon wedges to serve

Sicilian snapper with zucchini, mint and pistachio nuts

Get that sought-after crisp skin every time with this trick.

Serves 4

Prep

15M

Cook

10M

Total

25M

The key to beautifully crisp skin on the fish is to weight the fish in the pan with a heavy saucepan – place a sheet of baking paper on the fillet before placing the saucepan on top.

Ingredients

4 zucchini, thinly sliced lengthways on a mandoline

2 tbsp olive oil, plus extra for frying

1 cup mint (firmly packed)

1 golden shallot, thinly sliced on a mandoline

35 gm pistachio nuts, coarsely chopped, plus extra to serve (¼ cup)

4 snapper fillets, such as ruby snapper (about 180gm each), skin on

Currant and anchovy dressing

2 tbsp currants

80 ml extra-virgin olive oil (⅓ cup)

2 tbsp baby salted capers, rinsed and coarsely chopped

3 anchovy fillets, finely chopped

1 small garlic clove, crushed

½ tsp dried chilli flakes

Finely grated rind and juice of ½ lemon, plus lemon wedges to serve

Method

1.For currant and anchovy dressing, soak currants in boiling water for 5 minutes, then drain, coarsely chop and combine in a bowl with remaining ingredients and season to taste.

2.Heat a char-grill pan or barbecue to high heat. Drizzle half the zucchini with the 2 tbsp olive oil, season to taste and grill in batches until charred on one side (1 minute). Transfer to a bowl, cool briefly, then add mint, shallot, pistachio nuts and remaining zucchini.

3.Heat a splash of oil in a large frying pan over high heat, add snapper skin-side down, top with baking paper, weight with a heavy pan, and fry until skin is browned and crisp (2-3 minutes). Turn and fry until just cooked (1 minute). Remove from pan and rest for a minute.

4.Toss salad with half the dressing, season and arrange on plates with snapper. Drizzle with remaining dressing, scatter with extra pistachio nuts and serve with lemon wedges.

Maxwell Adey Senior Food Editor & Stylist

Maxwell has always been passionate about food. Born into a restaurateur and award-winning produce farming family, he was strongly steered into pursuing a career in advertising after completing his Bachelor of Public Communication at University of Technology, Sydney. After a very short stint, he decided to enrol in Commercial Cookery at TAFE to follow his true passion. Maxwell started out working in some of Sydney’s finest restaurants (Est., Claude’s and Moon Park) which helped further his love of all things culinary and developed his technical ability to cook. Later, he was lured into the magical world of food publishing where he freelanced for ten years for notable Australian commercial and editorial brands. He has also run his own business where he sells his marinated olives, dressings and sauces at food markets and select retailers. He excitingly joins the Gourmet Traveller team to bring his technical and creative expertise in food to the brand.

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Styling by Emma Knowles