Provençal refers to the type of sauce that these fish fillets are cooked in. Made up of tomatoes, white wine and garlic, this type of sauce makes for a delicious base.
This fish stew dish would be delicious served alongside a crusty white loaf of bread, couscous or mashed potato for a more substantial meal.
We use plaice in this recipe, however it would work just as well with skinned sea bass, lemon sole or sea bream. If you want to use a thicker fillet of fish, such as hake, cod or halibut, then fry for slightly longer on each side, around 3min. Press the fish gently with a cutlery knife to check if it's cooked. It will flake easily if it is, with no jelly-like texture to it and turned opaque throughout.
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Yields:
4
Prep Time:
20 mins
Cook Time:
40 mins
Total Time:
1 hr
Cal/Serv:
425
Ingredients
225g
(8oz) (8 oz) shallots
50g
(2oz) (2 oz) butter
5ml
(1 level tsp) caster sugar
375g
(13oz) (12 oz) young leeks, finely sliced on the diagonal
Salt and ground black pepper
4 x 125 g (4 oz) fish fillets, such as plaice, skinned
100ml
(3 ½ fl oz) (4fl oz) oil
100ml
(3 ½ fl oz) (4fl oz) medium dry white wine
300ml
(10 fl oz (½ pint)) (1/2 pint) fish stock
125g
(4oz) (4 oz) cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered
75g
(3oz) (3 oz) pitted black olives
Flat-leafed parsley and slices of lemon to garnish
Directions
Step 1
Place the shallots in a pan of water, bring to the boil and cook for 5min. Drain and plunge into cold water. Trim the ends, peel off skins and dry well.
Step 2
Heat 25g (1oz) butter in a frying pan, add the shallots and sugar and cook over a low heat for 5min or until golden. Add leeks and cook for 4–5min until just soft. Set aside.
Step 3
Season the fish with salt and ground black pepper. Heat the oil and remaining butter in the pan. Fry the fish (see Fish tip) for 3min on each side or until golden. Remove and keep warm.
Step 4
Pour the wine into the pan, bring to the boil and bubble until the liquid is reduced by half. Add the stock, return to the boil and bubble for 10min or until syrupy. Add the tomatoes and olives and bubble for 1min, then return the shallots and leeks to the pan to warm through; season. Garnish with parsley and slices of lemon and serve.
The fish is easier to fry if it’s lightly dusted with plain flour, but the fish won’t look as golden. Keep the heat high under the frying pan so the juices don’t escape from the fish.
An experienced and highly skilled team of food writers, stylists and digital content producers, the Good Housekeeping Cookery Team is a close-knit squad of food obsessives. Cookery Editor Emma Franklin is our resident chilli obsessive and barbecue expert, who spends an inordinate amount of time on holidays poking round the local supermarkets seeking out new and exciting foods. Senior Cookery Writer Alice Shields is a former pastry chef and baking fanatic who loves making bread and would have peanut butter with everything if she could. Her favourite carb is pasta, and our vibrant green spaghetti is her weeknight go-to. Lover of all things savoury, Senior Cookery Writer Grace Evans can be found eating crispy corn and nocellara olives at every opportunity, and will take the cheeseboard over dessert any time (though she cannot resist a slice of tres leches cake). With a wealth of professional kitchen know-how, culinary training and years of experience between them, they are all dedicated to ensuring every Good Housekeeping recipe is the best it can be, so you can trust they’ll work (and if they don’t – we’ll have the answer for why*) every time (*90% of the time the answer is: “buy an separate oven thermometer”!).
