Ali Irvine

Serving size: Serves 4
Cooking time: Less than 60 minutes
Course: Main
Favourite flavours: Seafood

Grilled lemon & fennel seed perch with four bean salad

INGREDIENTS

Salt
400g green beans, trimmed
2 cups once-peeled fresh or frozen broad beans
Olive oil spray
4 x 150g skinless & boneless perch fillets
Sea salt & cracked black pepper
2 tsp finely grated lemon zest
11/2 tsp fennel seeds
Handful parsley leaves, chopped roughly
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
11/2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
11/2 tsp caster sugar
1 eschalot, chopped finely
400g tin butter beans, drained and rinsed
400g tin red kidney beans, drained & rinsed

METHOD

Bring saucepan of salted water to boil. Preheat grill to medium-high.

Cook green beans in boiling water for 3 mins. Add broad beans and cook for a further 1 to 2 mins until all beans are just tender. Drain well and rinse under cold water.

Spray tray with olive oil. Arrange perch fillets on tray and season.

Combine lemon zest, fennel seeds and parsley in medium bowl. Sprinkle mixture over fish, pressing lightly to make it stick. Spray with a little more oil. Grill on top shelf for about 8 mins until fish is just cooked (see "Tip").

Peel second shell off broad beans. Discard shells.

Combine vinegar, oil, sugar and eschalot in large bowl, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Add cooked and tinned beans. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Stir to combine.

Serve Spoon bean salad onto plates and top with fish.

TIP: Filei calabresi, also called maccheroni al ferretto, is made by rolling irregular sheets of pasta around an iron rod or wire (ferretto).