Jono & Jules do food & wine

When we find recipes that do something a little differently and look like they work we have to give them a go. In this case Tessa Kiros suggested baking a firm white fish for one and a half hours which to our wisdom was too long to respect the fish flavours and texture but her enthusiasm and passion for the dish won out. The following recipe proved our preconceptions wrong and we had a delightful and flavoursome dish that proved a complete success. Definitely will be made again (and already has been :-))

Oven-baked fish with tomato & parsley (serves 4 )

• 1 kg firm white fish fillets, skinned and cut into 6cm pieces
• 400g tin tomatoes with juice
• 15g (1/4 cup) chopped parsley
• 4 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 2 lemons, juiced
• 2 celery stalks, very finely chopped with some leaves too if you like
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 3 tablespoons olive oil

Preheat oven to 180C/160C fan/350F. Lay fish pieces in a single layer in a large flat oven dish. Mix together all the other ingredients and taste for seasoning. Pour over and cover fish pieces, shaking the dish to balance and equally distribute the juices. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes.

Remove foil and bake for another 40 to 50 minutes until the liquid has thickened and the top of the fish is golden. You will have to judge this according to your oven as you may have to raise the temperature or reduce the time if necessary. Try to let the dish remain somewhat juicy and not dry out but at the same time crisp the top a little.

Serve with boiled or steamed potatoes as we did to good effect, or a warm crusty bread would work well too.

Wine Suggestion: A slightly herbally and mineral white with a medium body and no overt oak. We drank a superb Friulano brought by our friend Enrico, Vignai da Duline Fiulano 2007,  which had a  great balance of medium weight but perfectly poised concentration and elegant complexity. A delight and superbly matched the food. We recommend you search out this gem (2100 bottles in 2007) as it truly represents the Friulano grape to it very best and has a taughtness and poise that lifts it above the crowd.