Blue Eye with bilbaína sauce

Level up your fish fillets with this bold Basque sauce, originating from Bilbao in Northern Spain. Garlic-infused olive oil, vinegar and parsley provide balance and complexity to the sauce, ideal for drizzling over grilled fish.

• serves

  2

• prep

  5 minutes

• cook

  10 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 2 blue eye fillets (or other white fish)
• ½ cup olive oil, plus extra for frying the fish
• 8 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 3 dried red chillies, deseeded and sliced finely into rings
• 2 tbsp finely shredded flat-leaf parsley
• 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
• Marinated capsicum strips, to serve

Instructions

1. Heat a drizzle of olive oil in a medium frying pan over medium heat. Sprinkle the fish fillets on both sides with salt, then place in the pan, skin-side down. Cook until almost cooked through, then flip and cook for a further minute. Remove to a serving plate and keep warm.
2. While the fish is cooking, make the bilbaína sauce. Heat ½ cup oil in a small saucepan, then add the garlic. Fry until slightly browned around the edges, then remove from the heat. Stir through the chilli and parsley, then whisk in the vinegar.
3. Spoon the bilbaína sauce over the fish and serve with the marinated capsicum strips.

Photography by Jiwon Kim.

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Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.