Baked Butterfish with Courgettes, Lemon and Thyme

Ingredients

• 120g unsalted butter
• 2 medium courgettes cut into batons
• 2 shallots, finely chopped
• 8 firm button mushrooms, sliced
• salt and freshly ground white pepper
• 4 fillets of butterfish, about 200g each
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• grated zest of one lemon
• ½ teaspoon of fresh thyme leaves (or ¼ teaspoon – dried)

Method

Pre-heat the oven to 220° Celsius.

Heavily butter a ceramic baking dish with one half of the butter. Lay the vegetables in the dish and season them lightly with salt and pepper. Season the fish fillets lightly and lay them on top of the vegetables. Use up the remainder of the butter by topping each fillet with a generous piece.

Sprinkle the fish with the lemon juice, grated zest and thyme. Cover the dish tightly with aluminium foil and bake in the oven for 8-10 minutes.

Serve immediately in such a way as to have the fish fillet sitting on top of the vegetables and spoon some of the buttery juices onto each plate over and around the fish. Garnish with a fresh, tender sprig of thyme.

John Hawkesby’s wine recommendation

Chardonnay
Sileni 'The Lodge' 2008
Montana 'O' Ormond 2007