Cooking with Oranges (Part 1): Baked Fish with Orange-Fennel Salad

Recently, a friend of mine referred me to Jennifer of Trepunti Sicily, a Hongkonger who ran a farm on the ground and also an import/export business bringing many of the Sicilian produces and food products to this part of the world. I learned a great deal more about the regional ingredients and cooking just by a quick chat and message exchanges with her, and she even arranged to have a goodie box available for me to pick up with some of the seasonal produce including many of the citrus fruits. 

But then I do have one thing I forgot to confess before she sent the stuff over – oranges might be the most famous produce in Sicily, but I am never a fan of oranges. Not so much about the pulp but I absolutely hated the pith. That said, I decided to use the content of the goodie box for a few recipes for savory dishes, making use of the whole fruit except the pith. 

First I did was a simple one, making a fish dish with black olive tapenade with orange-fennel salad on the side. Orange and fennels made perfect combination in Italian cuisine, and this time, I am using Moro and Tarocco, both known as Sicilian blood oranges but of different breed. I sliced the oranges by what known as “supremes” to completely removed the pith with the skin saved and zest grated. The fennel bulb was cut into thick slices and quick toss in the saute pan with olive oil, with the leaves saved as garnishes for the fish fillet. Tapenade sauce was made in advance by blending pitted black olives, capers and anchovies. It’s spread on top of the fish fillet and baked in oven. To serve, the sauteed fennels were tossed with rocket, purple onion and bits of black olives, drizzled with extra olive oil and topped with the mix of oranges. Then the fish was taken out from the oven and placed on the plate. 

Baked Fish with Olive Tapenade and Orange-Fennel Salad (serves 2)

Ingredients:

Olive Tapenade
1 cup of pitted black olives
1 tablespoon of capers (rinsed if previously kept in brine)
1 anchovy fillet
2 clove of garlic (minced)
1 handful of fresh parsley (or 1 teaspoon of dried parsley)

Fish
2 pieces of skinless, boneless white fish fillets (such as cod, haddock or turbot – I am using Patagonian Toothfish this time) - around 150g each
Salt and Pepper for seasoning

Orange-Fennel Salad
2 large fresh oranges (I am using the Sicilian Blood Oranges)
1 fennel bulb with stalks
2 tablespoon of black olives (cut into small bits)
Half small purple onion, thinly sliced
2 handful of rocket, rinsed and dried

And most important of all, the finest Extra Virgin Olive Oil you can find in your kitchen

Steps:

1. Make the Tapenade first by cutting the black olives into small chunks and blend all ingredients (with salt and olive oil) into a hand blender or small kitchen mixer. Bear in mind that olives, capers and anchovies are all salty so be light on the salt. Set aside.

2. Supreme the oranges, set the slices aside and saved the peel – we will use that for the zest. For detailed steps, please use this for reference: https://www.marthastewart.com/1512359/supreming-citrus

3. Cut the fennel bulb into thick slices. Olive oil in the saute pan and set it to medium heat, quickly toss the fennel slices until slightly charred. Turn off the heat and set aside.

4. Season the fish with salt and pepper, and remove any small bones left. If the fish is too thick, consider butterfly it so it’s more evenly cooked. 

5. Pre-heat the oven to 190C. Line a baking pan with parchment paper and brush with olive oil. Place the fish fillets on the baking pan and cook for 10 minutes. Turn over the fillet and spoon the tapenade on top and cook for another 10 minutes, until the fish meat became more opague and flaky. 

6. Make the salad by tossing all ingredients except the oranges with generous amount of olive oil, taste and add salt and pepper as needed. Place the salad on the side of the plate and topped with orange supremes, more olive oil and orange zest. Carefully place the fish fillet (with tapenade on top) on the plate, and topped with chopped fennel leaves, grated orange zest and more olive oil. Serve immediately. 

Trepunti Sicily: https://trepuntisicily.com/