Pollock in Pastis with Fennel

I made this one up a couple of years ago when I was cooking in France for the family; simple fresh ingredients and minimal preparation time make it a perennial favourite.

It’s damned decent as “posh cooking” for a dinner party, too.

Pastis is the aniseed alcoholic spirit beloved of the French and (under other names – Ouzo, Raki etc) by the inhabitants of many other European nations. The best known brand in the UK is probably Pernod; I’d recommend using a much cheaper version for cooking with, though.

I usually serve it with a skin-on mash of red skinned potatoes and a couple of roasted red peppers as garnish; the dish needs something red on the plate otherwise, truthfully, it looks a bit anaemic – all pale greens and off-whites.

Aniseed flavours are the order of the day and it’s remarkably easy to overdo it, so I’m very careful. I personally dislike aniseed sweets or liquorice, but this dish is very scrummy indeed.

Fish is very easy to overcook – watch the fillets carefully during cooking, you need them only just cooked through otherwise you lose that delicate fishy flavour.

What you need (for four people):

The Fish

2 – 3 tbsp olive oil

Pollack (or other white fish fillets). Fresh and entire, skin on. Choose your own fillet sizes to suit your own appetites.

6 or 8 tbsp pastis.

Juice of 1 lemon.

2-3 tsp cornflour, mixed with cold water.

The fennel

2 large bulbs of fennel.

Vegetarian stock cube.

150ml water.

What to do:

Start with the fennel.

Unless the bulbs are very fresh, remove the outer layer and discard.

Thinly slice the bulb lengthways.

In a large saucepan, boil the water with the stock cube and plop the sliced fennel into the pan. The water does not need to cover the fennel – it’s best if it doesn’t; you’re part boiling and part steaming the vegetable.

Simmer on the hob on a low heat for 15-20 minutes.

Once the fennel is nearly done:

Pat each Pollack fillet dry with kitchen paper.

Heat the oil in a heavy bottomed skillet or frying pan until it’s just starting to smoke.

Plop the fish fillets skin down into the pan and leave for a couple of minutes.

Pour the pastis over the fillets – this will sizzle and spit, so be careful.

Pour the lemon juice over the fillets as well.

Remove the pan from the heat and plate up the fish fillets; keep them warm under a gentle grill fror a couple of minutes whilst you…

Put the fish pan back onto the heat, add the remaining water from the fennel pan (and, if necessary to make a sufficient volume of sauce for your taste, a small amount more water / I’ve used up leftover white wine instead and that’s delicious).

Thicken the sauce with the cornflour in water.

Serve with the fish on top of a bed of sliced fennel, sauce liberally poured over the top; mashed skin-on red skinned potatoes and a few slices of roasted red pepper.