by Jamison Godfrey •

Unfortunately I don’t get to use this fish much being in this part of the country.

Being a farmed fish should hopefully see Tasmania able to get this fish more regularly as it was one of my favourite fish to cook with when living in Sydney and the Sunshine Coast.

It is a firm flesh fish that becomes delicate and soft as it cooks with the capability to have lovely crisp skin if left on. Personally I love the skin on as it does keep the flesh nice and moist.

This is one fish that I haven’t caught yet in the wild but have increasing urges to every time I watch AFC.

To start, peel and chop potatoes and place them on the stove in some salted water and boil until soft.

Once cooked, drain well in colander over sink and place into food processor and blend until smooth and free of lumps.

Add melted butter, add salt and pepper and blend again quickly.

Place this into a bowl and keep warm until needed.

To make the basil oil, place basil leaves and olive oil into a blender and blitz for two minutes.

Remove from blender and pass through a fine sieve and put into a sauce bottle.

For the red pepper coulis, place the diced capsicum, water and sugar into a small saucepan and boil gently until capsicum is soft.

Place into blender and blitz for three minutes, then pass through a fine sieve and put into a sauce bottle.

To make the crumble, place the macadamia nuts and grated parmesan into food processor and pulse into a medium crumb, not too fine or it will turn into a paste.

Remove and place into a bowl with finely chopped chives and combine well.

Heat pan to almost smoking, place some olive oil in and put barramundi fillets in skin side down first, turn after a minute then seal the other side.

Transfer to a greased baking tray and place into a pre-heated moderate oven and cook for a further 8-10 minutes depending on the fillet size.

To serve, place some puree in the middle of the plate, put the fish fillet on top of that, sprinkle some crumble on top and drizzle with basil oil and red pepper coulis and dig in before it gets cold!

Ingredients (serves 4)
4 x 250g barramundi fillets, skin on and scored to prevent fillet curling
Potato Puree
300g peeled sweet potato
300g peeled Kennebec potatoes
Salt and pepper
50g butter melted
Salted water for cooking potatoes
Basil Oil
½ bunch of basil with leaves picked
200mls olive oil
Red Pepper Coulis
1 red capsicum seeded and diced roughly
200mls water
100g caster sugar
Macadamia Crumble
200g macadamia nuts
50g fresh grated parmesan cheese
½ small bunch chives chopped finely

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This recipe is from award winning chef Jamison Godfrey of the Drunken Admiral restaurant in Hobart, Tasmania. If you’re ever in Hobart we highly recommend visiting the Drunken Admiral and sampling their delicious menu of seasonal, local produce for yourself.
More info: www.drunkenadmiral.com.au