• 700g potatoes, skin on and washed well (or use sweet potato or a mix of both)
• 4 good sized garlic cloves
• a large handful of basil
• 12 fresh oregano leaves
• 1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar (or apple cider vinegar)
• 1 cup of tomato passata
• 1 large fresh tomato, roughly chopped into approximately 2cm sized chunks
• 60g unsalted butter melted
• 500g strongly flavoured fish fillets, well filleted
• 3/4 cup kalamata olives (in olive oil) roughly chopped or use capers

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 220 degrees celsius (425 degrees fahrenheit).
2. Place potatoes in a steamer and steam until nearly cooked.  Drain and set aside
3. Put the garlic and a good pinch of sea salt in a mortar and pound a little
4. Add the basil, oregano and pound to a lovely paste.
5. Add the vinegar, 1 Tbsp of melted butter, passata, capers or olives and fresh tomatoes and mix into the paste.  Set aside.
6. Pour half the melted butter left into a baking dish (large enough to fit the fish played out individually)
7. Add the tomato mixture and spread to cover the base
8. Lay the fish fillets on top
9. Slice the steamed potato into approximately 0.5cm or 5mm thick slices
10. Arrange the potato slices in rows on top of the fish, then drizzle with the remaining butter in the bowl.
11. Bake for 30 minutes.  The tomato sauce should be bubbling as it cooks and will start to reduce.  If the potatoes aren’t golden, place under a hot grill for 10 minutes to finish off!

Notes

• Jude recommends using an enamel-coated, cast iron baking dish as it holds the heat brilliantly and enables a quicker reduction of the liquid.  You can also use a stainless steel roasting pan, but you’ll need to increase the oven temperature to about 235 – 240 degrees and the pie may take longer to cook.

Inspiration for this recipe is from Jude Blereaus’ beautiful book, ‘Coming home to eat, whole food for the family’, p. 147