One of the things we love most about our job here at One Hour Out is discovering places like Captain Moonlite. It’s a sea-change for chef Matt Germanchis (Pei Modern, MoVida, Pandora’s Box) and partner Gemma Gange (Pei Modern, Jacques Reymond, Stokehouse). Now a firm OHO fave, Matt and Gemma have been generous enough to share this crowd-pleaser of a dish with us.
Ingredients
- 1 Whole Rock Flathead (700-900gm)*
- 100g baby heirloom tomatoes
- 100ml sherry vinegar
- 40g dark brown sugar
- 200g mussels
- 200ml white wine vinegar’
- 200ml water
- 100ml white wine
- 1/2 bunch dill, picked
- 4 all spice
- 2 bay leaves
- 100g caster sugar
- olive oil
- salt & pepper
- lemon
Method
Pickling Liquid
In a small pot add sugar to white wine vinegar and water, bring to boil and add bay leaves, all spice and dill stalks. Take off the heat and allow to cool completely.
Pickled Mussels
Heat a small pot, add mussels and white wine cover and steam until they open. Once open, take off heat and pick mussels out of the shells. Store in the white wine liquid.
Combine mussels and liquid to the pickling liquid and reserve.
Sweet & Sour Tomatoes
Heat pan until smoking, add olive oil and tomatoes until they blister. Deglaze with sherry vinegar and add sugar. Reduce until the liquid reaches syrup consisitency and keep warm.
Rock Flathead*
Prepare Rock Flathead by removing the head and trimming the spikes from the back of the spine with sharp scissors.
*Any variety of Flathead or whole fish can be substituted with the cooking time adjusted accordingly.
Place the whole fish on an oven tray lined with parchment paper, season with olive oil and salt. Bake in a fan forced oven at 180C for 20-25 minutes or until internal temperature of fish reaches 50C. Remove from oven and carefully peel off skin.
To Serve
Place fish on a preheated serving plate cover with the warm sweet and sour tomatoes and their liquid and randomly add desired amount of pickled mussels, top with dill fronds and serve with lemon wedge.
