BAKED BARRAMUNDI WITH OLIVES, TOMATO, AND SOURDOUGH

By Jacqueline Alwill on December 21, 2017 in Food

It’s hard to beat baked barra

You know the feeling; you embark on a cooking mission, only to find it doesn’t stack up to what you had imagined. Then other times you keep things chilled with the ‘I’m just gonna throw this in and that in and see how it goes’ approach, and it turns out the best.
Well, this baked barra with olives, tomatoes, and sourdough is that dish; it’s the throw-together that looks and tastes way more impressive than the time you put into it.
The key element to make that happen is your ingredients. Focus on good quality, locally sourced ingredients, and their flavours will speak for themselves. It’s perfect for a family meal during the week, or to impress your mates in the summer of entertaining ahead of us.

INGREDIENTS
(serves 4)
• 650-700g barramundi fillets cut into 8cm long pieces
• 800g truss tomatoes, roughly chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled and finely sliced
• 4 thick slices sourdough bread, cut into 4cm pieces
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Zest of 1 lemon, cheeks reserved for serving
• 100g Kalamata olives
• ½ cup basil leaves, roughly torn
• Optional: finely sliced fresh chilli

METHOD
1. Preheat the oven to 200˚C. Place tomatoes and garlic in a large baking dish, drizzle generously with extra virgin olive oil, season with sea salt and pepper, and cook in the oven for 10 minutes;
2. Toss the sourdough bread with extra olive oil, lay over another baking tray, and toast in the oven for 5 minutes or until golden;
3. Once the tomatoes have cooked, toss the lemon zest, Kalamata olives, and toasted sourdough into the dish and arrange the barramundi pieces into the ingredients;
4. Bake for 12-14 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fish fillets;
5. Remove from the oven, season with black pepper, and serve with fresh basil leaves and (optional) chilli.