Recipe: Red mullet in an envelope

The flavour is further enhanced by topping the fish with a piquant anchovy butter before baking. Ask your fishmonger to scale and gut the fish, leaving the liver in if possible as this adds to the flavour. If you can’t find red mullet, grey mullet will do, or other such fish with fine white flesh.

Ingredients

• 4 red mullet, 200 g each (ask your fishmonger to scale, clean and gut them for you)
• 4 herb fennel sprigs
• large handful of basil
• 1 tablespoon rosemary leaves
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• salt and freshly ground black pepper

Anchovy butter

• 200 g unsalted butter, softened
• 8 anchovy fillets in oil, drained

Serves 4

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F) Gas 6.

2. For the anchovy butter, put the softened butter into a bowl, add the anchovy fillets and mash together with a fork. Divide it into 4 pieces and chill until ready to use.

3. Rinse and dry the fish well and put some of the herbs into the cavity. Cut 4 rectangles of parchment paper large enough to envelop the fish. Brush the fish with olive oil and then place in the centre of a parchment rectangle. Add a piece of anchovy butter to each fish.

4. Top the fish with more herbs and season with salt and pepper. Bring the long edges of the paper up over the fish and fold together firmly. Twist the ends of the paper to seal. Place the packages on a baking sheet and bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes.

5. Serve the fish in their fragrant packages.

Recipe from The Herb Kitchen published by Ryland Peters & Small (£14.99). 

Other recipes from this book include aubergine tartare with flat-leaf parsley salad.