Haddock With Capers And Lemon And Crushed Peas

Nothing beats picking fresh peas from your own garden – in fact ours often don’t make it back to the kitchen because we eat them out of the pods on the spot.

But you can make this with fresh or frozen peas and the whole meal (potatoes apart) takes minutes to prepare and cook. Full of zesty flavours, it is perfect for a quick weekday supper or a light summer lunch.

We ate the fish with cubed fried potatoes (or try new potatoes, simply boiled) but the highlight for me was the crushed, minted peas. They’re a revelation if you’ve never tried this method before and their sweetness makes a good contrast to the sharp caper and lemon sauce.

Haddock With Capers And Lemon And Crushed Peas

Image of haddock with capers and lemon and crushed peas

Ingredients:

2 haddock fillets (or any firm, chunky white fish or salmon), about 150g each

Seasoned flour for dusting the fish + 1/2 tbsp oil for frying

For the sauce:

The juice and zest of 1/2 a lemon

1 tbsp capers, rinsed and roughly chopped

2 tbsp snipped chives

1 tbsp olive oil

For the crushed peas:

Image of peas in the pod

300g fresh or frozen peas, shelled weight (around 750g weighed in the pod)

40ml good quality olive oil

2 tbsp fresh mint, chopped

Salt and freshly ground black pepper and a pinch of sugar

A squeeze of lemon juice (optional)

Method:

First, make the sauce. Whisk the lemon zest and juice, the chopped, rinsed capers and snipped chives with a tablespoon of olive oil and set aside.

For the minted peas, defrost first if frozen, then crush them in a food processor using the pulse button or with a potato masher. They should  be roughly chopped, not pureed.

Image of crushed peas before cooking

Put them in a saucepan with the olive oil, chopped mint, a good pinch of salt, freshly ground pepper and a pinch of sugar. Put a lid on and cook on a medium heat for around four minutes. Check the seasoning and add a squeeze of lemon juice if necessary. Keep warm.

Just before you want to eat, dust the fish with seasoned flour, tap off the excess and fry in half a tablespoon of oil for 2-3 minutes a side until cooked.

Serve with the lemon and caper sauce spooned over the top and with the peas on the side.

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