A little time involved here making the sauce but not difficult, I would always make extra because it’s equally delicious with chicken or vegetables, so keep some in the freezer and you have a quick meal on hand any time.
Serves 4
1 tablespoon coriander seeds
1 tablespoon cumin seeds
½ teaspoon chilli flakes
2 tablespoon sunflower oil
2 red onions, chopped
3/4 cloves garlic, chopped
thumb size piece ginger, chopped
2 sticks lemongrass, chopped
400ml can tomatoes, chopped
400ml can coconut milk
salt and black pepper
4 fillets of hake, approx. 150g each, skinned, cut into largish chunks
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh coriander, chopped.
In a small dry pan toast the coriander and cumin seeds together until just aromatic, careful not to burn, remove from the heat and crush in a mortar and pestle or coffee grinder. Add in the chilli flakes, mix well and set aside. Heat the sunflower oil in a large pan and sauté the onions for 3/4 minutes until just beginning to brown, add in the garlic, ginger and lemongrass, sauté for another minute or two, then tip in the spices and mix well together over the heat for another 2 minutes, add the tomatoes, coconut milk and season well, simmer gently for 8/10 minutes, blend the sauce at this stage with a stick blender, this will give you a lovely smooth sauce, but it’s not entirely necessary. Set aside. Just about 15 minutes before you want to serve, season the fish well and drizzle with olive oil, simmer the sauce and slide the fish into the sauce, cover the pan and cook for 8/10 minutes or until the fish is just firm, don’t over cook it, taste the sauce for seasoning. Finish with the chopped fresh coriander, a drizzle of olive oil and serve over basmati rice.
