‘The Vintner’s Table’ - a recipe for you to try

I talked about this title last week and now the publishers have kindly agreed to let me reproduce a recipe from the book.

Whole baby snapper

with capers, green

olives, preserved

lemon and herbs

SHAWN McGOWAN

Baby snapper are an experience in

themselves, delicate and very tasty.

This simple accompaniment to match

is sharp and punchy, but be careful not

to use too much preserved lemon

as it has a very strong flavour.

SERVES 2

Wine match: Pegasus Bay Chardonnay

or VIRTUOSO Chardonnay

2 x 400 g whole baby snapper

50 ml extra virgin olive oil

salt and freshly ground black pepper

50 g butter

50 g salted capers

50 g pitted green olives, sliced

½ handful Italian parsley, chopped

skin of 1 preserved lemon, julienned

micro-herbs, to garnish

lemon wedges, to garnish

Preheat oven to 250°C. Trim the baby snapper

of all fins and blood lines, then score from

head to tail along the backbone. Place on an

oven tray with a splash of olive oil and season

with salt and pepper. Bake for 9–10 minutes,

depending on size.

While the fish is cooking, place the butter,

capers, and salt and pepper in a fry pan and

heat until foaming and brown. Add the green

olives, parsley and preserved lemon.

Spoon this on top of snapper to serve. Garnish

with micro-herbs and lemon wedges.