Poisson aux Fines Herbes (Herbed Fish)

Ingredients:

1 kg whole fish
40g finely-chopped parsley
40g finely-chopped coriander
225g tin, crushed tomatoes
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 tbsp finely-crushed garlic
1 tbsp freshly-grated ginger
1 tbsp finely-chopped fresh thyme
120ml dry sherry (or rice wine)
juice of 1 lemon
4 tbsp tomato purée
2 tbsp vegetable oil

Method:

Cut the fish into steaks about 4cm thick and season liberally with salt and black pepper. Reassemble the fish on a casserole dish, place in an oven pre-heated to 240°C and cook for about 10 minutes. Remove the fish from the oven and set aside.

Meanwhile heat the oil in a frying pan and once hot add the onion, ginger, garlic and thyme. Stir-fry until the onion becomes soft and translucent. Add the tomatoes and tomato purée and mix to incorporate. Season to taste and cook for about 20 minutes, or until the tomatoes have completely broken down. Gradually add the sherry or rice wine little by little then stir-in half the chopped parsley and half the chopped coriander along with all the lemon juice. Mix together and continue cooking until the sauce thickens to the desired consistency.

Reduce the oven to 200°C (400°F/Gas Mark 6) sprinkle the reserved coriander and parsley over your part-baked fish then use the tomato sauce you've just made to cover the fish. Return the fish to the oven and cook for about 10 minutes then reduce the heat to 150°C (300°F/Gas Mark 2) and continue to cook until the sauce thickens to your desired consistency (do not over-cook the fish!).

Serve immediately, accompanied by crusty fresh Breads.