Summery Fish with Spinach, Fennel and Raspberries

Jul 15

Jul 15 Summery Fish with Spinach, Fennel and Raspberries

So Summer has finally arrived in Belgium and I am taking full advantage. Relaxing at a friend's swimming pool, enjoying a BBQ at another friend's house, a picnic in the park... Basically all the nice stuff you can't do when it's raining. Most of us are predicting that, because we had two weeks (more or less) of non-stop (more or less) sunshine, we will all be punished for this frivolous Summer behaviour in August and not see these types of Summer days again until, maybe if we're lucky, July 2018. So everyone is currently taking full advantage except for the boyfriend, who took his two weeks off right before the weather started being decent. Which means he is either sulking about badly washed jeans or trying to sleep in the sunshine with sparkly golden sunscreen because he left his at home and had to use mine. At least there is an entertainment factor going on here and I generally don't feel the need to complain. ;)

Because of these sunny times I had a need for some sunny food. Lots of refreshing flavour, colour and easily prepared so you can take advantage of the nice weather outside and the good friends you had over to share the food with.

So here is a recipe I thought of one evening last week. It is one of those recipes which makes you happy it is Summer, and even if it isn't Summer, it will make you feel like it is ;)

WHAT DO YOU NEED?

a couple of filets of your favourite white fish. I used cod.
a bag of fresh spinach leaves
fennel very finely sliced
a couple of slices of lemon, and a squeeze of juice
salt and pepper
2 drops of stevia
a handful of rasberries
a splash of white wine or water. I used water.

WHAT DO YOU NEED TO DO?

Pile it all up. On baking paper. In aluminium foil. Seriously.
Okay I will do it in slow ;)
Pre-heat your oven at about 180°C.
First grab a sheet of aluminium foil and place it on your working space. On top of that, place a sheet of baking paper. I do this because I think it is quite strange to cook stuff in aluminium foil. I am sure that it is not that bad for the food but still. Make sure that, if you make it without the baking paper, your cooking time will reduce.

Then start with the veggies. Add a layer of fennel. Make sure the fennel is finely sliced otherwise it will stay way too raw. It will still be crunchy in this recipe. If you like it cooked through entirely, cook it partially beforehand in some olive oil and lemon juice. On top of that, make a nice cosy bed for the fish with the spinach. You want it to be cosy because... cosy. ;)

Sprinkle some raspberries over everything, as many as you like! Place the fish over the bed of spinach, add some salt and pepper and the lemon slices. Add a splash of wine or water and the drops of stevia. Then drizzle everything with some olive oil and you're good to go! Close the parcel tighlty and pop it in the oven for about 25-30 minutes. Alternatively you can pop the into the BBQ but make sure you don't leave it on for too long because the BBQ can get quite a bit hotter than a controlled oven :)

I served the fish with some simple unpeeled boiled potatoes.

Pure Summer Bliss... ;)