Red mullet & samphire salad with tomato vinaigrette

Name: Red mullet & samphire salad with tomato vinaigrette
Yield: Serves 4
Cuisine: French
Ingredients: 60 g small salad leaves, such as purslane, baby spinach, corn salad; 4 tbsp olive oil; 1 tbsp tarragon vinegar; 1 small tomato, skinned and deseeded; salt and freshly ground black pepper; a little olive oil, for frying; 4 red mullet fillets, each about 115 g, any residual bones removed, and fillets halved; 150 g samphire, trimmed

Preparation info

Serves
4

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

Fish etc.

By Mark Hix

Published 2004

About

Red mullet has a rich, almost gamy flavour, hence one of the French terms for it, bécasse de mer (woodcock of the sea). It is a beautiful-looking fish and normally has a price tag to match. It should be cooked and garnished simply.

Ingredients

150 g samphire, trimmed
a little olive oil, for frying
4 red mullet fillets, each

Europe
France
Fish course
Pescatarian
Gluten-free
Mediterranean

Method

Heat a large pan of water to blanch the samphire. Make the dressing: blend the vinegar, tomato and olive oil with 1 tablespoon of water until smooth. Strain and season with salt and pepper.
Heat a little olive oil in a non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Season the red mullet fillets with salt and pepper and fry them, skin side down first, for 1½ minutes on eac