Spiced Rice Pilaf with Flathead

Cook Time 45 minutes

Servings 4

Ingredients

Spiced Rice Pilaf with Flathead

¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 medium brown onion, finely diced

5 cloves garlic, finely diced

2 tsp fennel seeds

3 tsp cumin seeds

2 tsp smoked paprika 

salt flakes

2 large ripe tomatoes, coarsely grated

300g jasmine rice

freshly ground black pepper

1 litre chicken stock, hot

50g butter

4 x flathead fillets

15 cherry tomatoes on the vine

¼ bunch flat-leaf parsley, leaves torn

To Serve

1 lemon, cut into quaters

Greek yoghurt

Olive Paste

200g pitted green olives, finely chopped

½ bunch flat-leaf parsley

100ml extra-virgin olive oil

Juice of ½ lemon 

Method

Preheat the oven to 220°C.

Make the olive paste by combining all the ingredients into a food processor and blitzing. Decant into a bowl and set aside for later.

On medium heat, in a deep sided frying pan, add onion, garlic, cumin and fennel. Saute until onions are soft. Add grated tomato, give that a good stir then add in rice, paprika then season with salt and pepper. Cook for 2 minutes stirring regularly. Add stock, bring to a simmer then stir in the butter.

Pop in the oven, uncovered for 15-20 minutes. Coat the fish in the olive paste then nestle into the rice. Scatter the cherry tomatoes into the remaining spaces in the rice and spoon any of the extra olive paste over the top. Bake again for 10 minutes or until the fish is cooked.

Top with parsley leaves and serve with lemon quarters and a side of yoghurt.