Grate(d) marinara sauce with seafood parcels

Servings: 4
Tomato-based sauces can often overpower delicate seafood, but if you keep the tomato flavour fresh rather than processed and load it up with garlic, you’ll create a lovely counterpoint to sweet seafood. For a cost-effective option, while tomatoes are in abundance, you might even like to blitz up batches of this tomato sauce and freeze in portions, then defrost to make these seafood parcels once the weather turns. I’ve used flathead and prawns, but you could even tumble some marinara mix from the fishmonger into a parcel and steam in exactly the same way.
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Ingredients 

  • 3-4 medium ripe tomatoes approx 500-600g
  • 2 garlic cloves peeled
  • 600 g skinless boneless flathead fillets or other firm white fish
  • 400 g whole unpeeled prawns or marinara mix thawed (optional but excellent)
  • ½ bunch basil leaves picked, stems reserved
  • ½ tsp salt flakes
  • ¼ tsp freshly cracked pepper

Final bits and bobs

  • Crusty bread such as baguette or ciabatta
  • Good quality butter or olive oil
  • Reserved basil leaves from above

Instructions 

  • Preheat the oven to 180°c fan (200°c conventional).
  • Coarsely grate your tomatoes and finely grate the garlic into a medium mixing bowl, add a pinch of salt and pepper and taste for seasoning. A pinch of sugar wouldn’t go astray if the tang in the tomatoes makes your mouth pucker.
  • Line a roasting tray with an extra-long piece of foil and an extra-long piece of baking paper on top. Scatter the basil stems in the centre of the tray. Lay the fish fillets on top (and prawns/marinara mix if using) then pour over the tomato and garlic mix and a lick of olive oil.
  • Fold the extra-long tent of baking paper and foil over the fish, crimping the baking paper and foil along the edges. Leave some ceiling space so air can circulate and the seafood can steam in its own juices. Place the tray in the oven on the lowest shelf and roast for 15 to 20 minutes (depending on the thickness of the fillets) until the fish is just opaque. Remove the tray from the oven and leave to rest for 10 minutes.
  • Once ready to serve, open up the parcel, sprinkle with reserved basil leaves and give it another flick of oil, pinch of salt flakes and a good crack of pepper.
  • Serve with a crunchy fresh bread with lashings of butter or more olive oil – whatever floats your boat.

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