×
Donal Skehan
Brown Butter Fried Fish with Romesco Sauce & Spanish Boiled Baby Potatoes | DonalSkehan.com
  • real-time-recipes

Brown Butter Fried Fish with Romesco Sauce & Spanish Boiled Baby Potatoes

November 25

This dish is all about letting the flavours shine with minimal fuss, its a Spanish twist on an Irish classic fish supper. Crispy-skinned white fish fillets, fried to golden perfection, paired with a smoky, tangy romesco sauce that’s as vibrant as it is simple. The Spanish baby potatoes, with their salty, crispy skin, are the perfect side to soak up that nutty brown butter and sweet capers.  The key to this recipe is in the timing and the contrast—crispy fish, tender beans, and rich sauce. The romesco comes together in minutes, and those baby potatoes? Just boil them until they’re perfectly crispy on the outside and creamy inside. Add that brown butter drizzle at the end for a bit of decadence, and you’ve got yourself a meal that feels special, but takes barely any time to pull off.

 

  • serves Serves 4
  • time 15 minutes, plus ingredient prepping

Method

  1. 1. Right, this is a fast one so get all your prep done first, get everything weighed out ready, make sure the kettle is boiled and get your blender plugged in and ready to go.
  2. 2. Get a saucepan onto a high heat. Add the potatoes and just enough boiling water from the kettle to cover them along with 1 tbsp salt. Bring to boil and leave to boil - they will take about 10 - 12 minutes at a rapid boil so we’ll come back to them later
  3. 3. Now, chop the roasted peppers coarsely on a chopping board. Add a garlic clove and finely chop as well, mixing it into the chopped peppers. Add the capers and almonds and chop into the peppers and garlic then move everything into a small bowl.
  4. 4. Add the smoked paprika, red wine vinegar and sundried tomato pesto and mix everything together. Add a good glug of olive oil, some salt and pepper and set aside.
  5. 5. For the fish, season the flour with salt and pepper on a large plate and press the fish fillets into the mix to coat on either side. Shake off any excess and set aside on a clean plate.
  6. 6. Heat the oil and half of the butter in a frying pan, which is big enough to accommodate the fish fillets over a high heat. Add the fish, skin-side down and cook for 2 minutes. Turn the fish, moving to one side of the pan and add the green beans. After a few minutes,, remove the fish from the pan and set aside. Add a splash of water to the pan and allow the beans to cook, for a further few minutes. Remove the beans to the same plate as the fish.
  7. 7. Place the pan back over a high heat and melt the remaining butter until it is foaming, then add the lemon juice and capers and continue to cook until the butter turns a nutty golden brown.
  8. 8. To finish remove the lid from the potatoes and check they and tender. They should be cooked through with a salty crust by now.
  9. 9. Serve the fish, beans and potatoes drizzled with the nutty brown butter and romesco sauce. Sprinkle with a little parsley to garnish.

Ingredients

For the fish:

4 firm white fish fillets, such as cod or haddock, skin on

6 tbsp all-purpose flour

2 tbsp olive oil

3.5 oz butter

5.3 oz green beans

Juice of ½ lemon

2 tbsp olive oil

3 tbsp capers, drained and rinsed

A little flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped, to garnish (optional)

For the romesco:

7 oz roasted red peppers

1 clove garlic

1 tbsp capers, drained

2.6 oz almonds, skin on

2 tbsp sun-dried tomato pesto

½ tsp hot smoked paprika

2 tbsp red wine vinegar

For the baby potatoes:

12.3 oz baby potatoes,  the smallest you can find

Sea salt & freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Olive oil, for drizzling

 

4 firm white fish fillets, such as cod or haddock, skin on

6 tbsps plain flour

2 tbsps olive oil 

50g butter

150g green beans 

Juice of 1/2 lemon

2 tbsp olive oil

3 tbsp capers, drained and rinsed

A little flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped, to garnish (optional)

For the romesco:

200g roasted red peppers

1 clove garlic 

1 tbsp capers, drained

75g almonds, skin on

2 tbsp sundried tomato pesto

½ tsp hot smoked paprika

2 tbsp red wine vinegar

For the baby potatoes:

350g baby potatoes the smallest you can get

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Olive oil