Italian Baked Fish

55 minutes

Serves 4

This recipe is from Delia's Complete Cookery Course.

Four pieces of any white fish can be used for this dish, though my own personal choice is cod steaks on the bone.

An interesting variation on this recipe is to add a dessertspoon of chopped fennel leaves to the tomato sauce before pouring it over the fish for baking.

The Delia Online Cookery School: Have you seen Delia's ingenious method for shallow frying fish? Watch the video on this page to see how she does it.

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Method

Start by making a good thick tomato sauce: heat the olive oil in a saucepan and fry the onion for about 5 minutes.

Now add the garlic and tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper, then bring to simmering point and cook gently, uncovered, for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Next add the sliced mushrooms, making sure that they are well stirred in. Simmer for a further 10 minutes until it looks like a thick sauce. Lastly, stir in the fresh basil and chopped capers. (You can also watch how Delia makes Fresh Tomato Sauce, in our Cookery School Video for Perfect Pasta, just click the image to play).

Now place the fish in a shallow baking dish or tin, season with salt and pepper and sprinkle a little lemon juice on each piece. Next spoon an equal quantity of the sauce on to each piece of fish and arrange a few olives on top. Cover the dish with foil and bake on a high shelf for about 25 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fish. Serve with new potatoes or brown rice and a tossed green salad.