A mainstay of the Celtic diet, fish is renowned for its many health benefits. Enjoy this recipe for classic Scottish Haddock!

Ingredients

4 fillets of fresh Scottish haddock
4 slices of sandwich bread
25g butter
100g giant couscous (boiled in salted water)
30g sunblushed tomatoes in oil (chopped)
1 clove of crushed garlic
2 tbs diced tomato flesh (discard seeds and skin)
1 tbs chopped chervil
1 tbs chopped chives
30g buckie/piriwinkle meat (if unavailable try cockles)
½ tsp lemon zest
1 bulb of fennel
1 Arbroath Smokie picked off the bone
Juice of ½ lemon
Chive batons

Instructions

For the fish, cut the crusts off the bread slices and place in between two sheets of plastic food wrap. Use a rolling pin to flatten the bread to 2mm thick. Season the bread with a little salt and pepper. Fold each haddock fillet in half and place on top of the bread. Trim the bread with a knife so the bread and fish are the same size. It is now ready for cooking. Once the couscous has been cooked, strain through a colander and mix all remaining ingredients together with the couscous. Season well, reserve and keep warm until ready to serve. For the salad garnish, simply shave the fennel using a mandolin then toss together with the smokie meat, lemon and chives. Use a pan that is suitable to go in an oven.  Set the oven at 160ºc/Gas mark 4. To cook the fish, warm the pan with a little oil over a moderate heat. Place the fish into the oil bread side down. Remove from the heat after a short time (30-40 seconds) and cook in the oven for approximately 5-6 mins. When the fish is cooked, remove from the oven and flip it over to reveal the golden bread crust. Serve fish on a bed of couscous and top with salad garnish.

Ith do shàth!
Siobhán