food to glow

Easy Sheet Pan Mediterranean Fish is a quick, family-style meal of herb and butter-basted fish and colourful vegetables. Winter tweaks are also included so that you can enjoy this nutritious dish all year-round.

This post has been sponsored by Kerrygold Butter. All thoughts and opinions – as always – are my own. Read my Disclosure policy here. Thank you for supporting the brands that help make Food To Glow possible.

 

As summer ebbs away, I’m doing all I can to hang onto summer. While I’ve resigned myself to packing away the shorts, my kitchen is positively glowing with end-of-summer produce. 

Every day I am out picking mangetout (snowpeas), peppers, spinach and tomatoes from our raised beds – or at least whatever the snails have left for us. And the farmer’s markets and independent grocery stores are brimming with glossy aubergines, courgettes and peppers that actually taste of summer sunshine. 

It’s been a fantastic year for British produce, hasn’t it?

Today’s recipe keeps the summer going with some of the best summer picks from the produce aisle – and your own vegetable patch if you have one.

And it really couldn’t be simpler. 

Kerrygold butter is the not-so-secret ingredient 

One thing that really makes the flavours pop, and keeps the fish so moist, is a bit of butter. Not just any old butter either: Kerrygold butter. 

Long renowned in the US, where best-quality, grass-fed butter is highly valued but harder to get, Kerrygold Irish salted butter is our favourite butter. It is so versatile, adding delicious flavour to anything it touches. Just a slice can make the difference between a good dish and a great one. Have you tried adding a knob of butter to a homemade tomato sauce? The great Marcella Hazan recommends it. I do it, too. This little trick is a brilliant way to balance the acidity of a tomato sauce.

What’s special about Kerrygold is that it comes from Irish, grass-fed cows. Living on small, family-run farms in the lush Irish countryside, and fed for the majority of the year on abundant green grass, these cows produce a milk that makes a distinctive golden-yellow butter (a sign of the beta carotene-filled grass diet), that is deliciously creamy and superior in taste.

Buy Kerrygold and get cash back 

Here in the UK we can buy Kerrygold butter and get 50 percent cash back through the Shopmium app. And when you grab a pack, perhaps use some to try this Easy Sheet Pan Mediterrranean Fish?

Here’s what you need for Easy Sheet Pan Mediterranean Fish

A sweet red pepper (bell pepper)

An aubergine (eggplant)

Yellow and green courgettes (summer squash/zucchini) – or all of one colour

Black olives (Kalamata, for preference)

White or oily fish – whatever is good and plentiful where you are. 

Capers in vinegar

Lemon thyme or regular thyme

Fennel seeds

Olive oil

Prawns – optional

Kerrygold Salted Butter

How to make Easy Sheet Pan Mediterranean Fish 

This recipe is so easy and quick to make for the family. It’s just a bit of chopping really. But here is the run down to dinner:

Slice the vegetables into evenly sized pieces. I used a long red pepper to make pretty rings, but slice a bell pepper into strips. I also had some baby aubergines (eggplant), but if using globe or Italian aubergine, cut it into large-ish cubes or batons. Pop all of the vegetables onto a sheet pan/baking tray; toss with a bit of olive oil and dot with butter. Cover the tray with foil, and roast in the oven while you prep the fish.

I’ve used hake as it is a sustainable and delicious fish. It also happens to be cheaper than haddock or cod. Whatever fish you buy, wipe it and set aside. 

To make the flavoured Kerrygold herb butter, put the butter in a mini food processor bowl and blend until you get a whipped texture. If you want to keep things lower-tech, soften the butter enough to hand-whip with a small, sturdy whisk.

Finely chop the capers and lemon thyme. Then vigorously fold the capers, thyme and crushed fennel seeds into the butter. Taste it to see if you want to add anything else. If you want to add a little lemon zest or chilli flakes, go right ahead.

Spread the butter evenly over the fish. Pull the vegetables out of the oven, remove the foil, and give them a wee toss before adding a handful of stoned black olives and topping with the buttered fish. Return to the oven and bake for a further 15 minutes, or until the fish is done. 

While the dish is finishing up, why not take one small step to make this a restaurant-worthy dish? Use any leftover butter mix – or just use a bit of extra butter – and fry up juicy, fat prawns to pop on top of the fish as you serve it. To serve, spritz the whole dish with fresh, fragrant lemon. This is a complete meal, but it goes well with steamed or boiled spinach, and good bread or whole grain rice.

How can I tell if my fish is done? 

If you aren’t sure if the fish is cooked, at the thickest point stick a fork in at an angle, and gently twist. If it flakes away and looks opaque rather than translucent, it is done. However, if it is stubborn and still translucent, return the pan for about five minutes. An instant-read food thermometer should have an internal temperature of 140-145C/285-290F when inserted at the thickest point.

Can I use other vegetables in Easy Sheet Pan Mediterranean Fish? 

Of course! In cooler months, choose what is available – often the “harder” vegetables, like squash, sweet potato, celeriac and carrots – and just roast a little longer. And why not use a “wintry” herb like sage or rosemary? 

Other vegetables you could include: tinned artichokes (add when you add the fish), sliced fennel, Swiss chard (add with the fish) and/or cooked new potatoes.

What kind of fish should I choose? 

This recipe can be made with either white fish or oily fish. I would advise you to use what you like, but try and choose a sustainable fish. I like hake (a white fish) as it is plentiful, delicious and inexpensive. Check the sustainability of your favourite fish in the UK by going to the Marine Conservation Society. See your country’s fish sustainability website for current picks.

 

**Kerrygold Salted Butter is found in the dairy aisle in all UK supermarkets. Why not try via the Shopmium app and get 50 percent cash back?** 

 

Thank you for supporting the brands that help keep Food To Glow online and ad-free. I really appreciate it. Any questions about the recipe or suitable tweaks, just ask.

A few more fish & seafood recipes on Food To Glow (check my Index for more)

Greek-Style Sea Bass

Low-Carb Smoked Mackerel Fishcakes

Creamy Shrimp Skillet with Greens and Tomatoes

Lemony Crab and Zucchini Pasta

Summer Fish and Vegetable Pie with New Potato Crust