Cabbage and saltbush baked fish

The French love to cook fish ‘en papillote’ (in parcels), but this method from Kane Pollard is not only more eco-friendly, it also improves fish flavour and texture significantly. The secret? Wrapping your fish fillets in salt-brined cabbage leaves, creating the perfect moist and seasoned fish fillet.

Credit: Jiwon Kim

• serves

  4

• prep

  20 minutes

• cook

  10 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 8 large, brined savoy cabbage leaves (see Note)
• 4 limes, plus extra to serve
• 375 g diced butter, room temperature
• 90 g picked saltbush leaves
• ¼ small bunch flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
• Sea salt flakes and black pepper, to taste
• 8 x 70 g skin-on fish fillets (coorong mullet or tommy ruff)
• 100 ml olive oil

Brining time: overnight

Resting time: 2 minutes

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 210˚C (fan-forced). Line a large baking tray with baking paper. Heat a chargrill pan over medium-high heat.
   
2. Pat the brined cabbage leaves dry with a paper towel, then grill on the chargrill pan until charred and soft enough to wrap the fish. Remove from the heat to a plate and set aside. Finely zest the limes, then halve and place on the chargrill, cut-side down, until charred. Remove from the heat. When cool enough to handle, juice the limes.
   
3. In the bowl of a food processor, combine the butter, saltbush, parsley, half the lime juice and zest and a generous pinch of sea salt flakes and black pepper. Blitz to combine.
   
4. To cook the fish, lay the cabbage leaves out on a clean working surface. Top with 1 fish fillet and sprinkle with salt and black pepper. Spoon over about 30 g of the saltbush butter, then top with a second fish fillet. Wrap to enclose the fish in the brined cabbage leaf. Repeat with the remaining fish, butter and cabbage leaves, then transfer the cabbage-wrapped fillets to the prepared baking tray.
   
5. Bake for 10 minutes, until cooked (test the centre of the fish with a metal skewer to ensure it is cooked through).
   
6. In a small saucepan, heat the remaining saltbush butter with the remaining lime juice, zest and olive oil. Cook, stirring, until the butter melts and the sauce is warmed through.
   
7. Divide the cabbage-wrapped fish fillets between plates and spoon over the buttery saltbush sauce. Serve with extra lime wedges, if you like.

Note

• To brine the cabbage leaves, into a large bowl or saucepan, dissolve 15 g salt in 1 litre of water (to create a 1.5% brine). Add the cabbage leaves and refrigerate overnight before using.

Photography by Jiwon Kim.

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Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.