John Dory and mussels with turmeric tomato butter

Channel your inner Adam Liaw with this seafood feast – pan-seared John Dory, picked mussels and a rich, spiced butter infused with blistered cherry tomatoes and garden-fresh herbs. Slices of sourdough are essential for soaking up every last buttery bite.

• serves

  4

• prep

  10 minutes

• cook

  10 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 600 g John Dory fillets (about 3-4 fillets)
• Salt
• 300 g mussels
• Lemon wedges, sourdough, to serve

For the turmeric and tomato butter

• 2 cups cherry tomatoes
• ½ tsp ground turmeric
• 1 tbsp thyme leaves
• 1 tbsp sea salt flakes
• A pinch black pepper
• 250 g butter, softened
• ½ cup flat-leaf parsley leaves, thinly sliced, plus extra to serve

Instructions

1. To make the turmeric and tomato butter, place a large frying pan over high heat. Add the cherry tomatoes and dry-fry, swirling the pan occasionally, until the tomatoes are blistered. Transfer to the bowl of a food processor with the remaining ingredients (except the parsley) and blend until smooth. Remove to a medium bowl and fold through the parsley. Set aside.
2. Return the pan to medium heat, then add the vegetable oil. Season the fish fillets on both sides with salt, then add to the pan, skin-side down and cook for a few minutes.
3. Meanwhile, bring a small saucepan of water to the boil. Once simmering, add the mussels and cook until their shells just open. Drain, allow to cool slightly, then pick the meat from their shells.
4. Flip the fish, then add a few spoonfuls of tomato butter to the pan. Add the picked mussel meat to the frying pan with the fish and toss to coat in the butter.
5. Once the fish is cooked, transfer the fish and mussels to a large serving platter and top with another dollop of the turmeric and tomato butter. Sprinkle with extra parsley and serve the John Dory and mussels with lemon wedges and sliced sourdough.

Note

If John Dory is not available for this recipe, you could substitute with ocean perch fillets.

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.