This recipe is taken from Ainsley Harriott’s cookbook ‘Ainsley’s Caribbean Kitchen’ published by Ebury Press and reproduced here with Ainsley’s kind permission.
Photo credit: Dan Jones
Ainsley says of this dish: “I love this one-pot curry; a wonderfully aromatic and vibrant fish dish with Caribbean spices and creamy coconut. You can use any fish you like, although a firm white fish such as hake or cod works best – maybe add some prawns, if you fancy. Caribbean curry powder is available from most supermarkets, but if you can’t find any, use a mild Indian curry powder. Serve with Rice ’n’ Peas or plain white rice and a sprinkling of fresh coriander”.
Ingredients:
- 4 x 120g large white fish fillets, skinless
- juice of ½ lime
- 2 tbsp mild Caribbean curry powder
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 3-cm piece of fresh root ginger, peeled and finely grated
- 5 spring onions, sliced and a few slices reserved to garnish
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 Scotch bonnet chilli, finely chopped
- 1 red pepper, roughly chopped
- 1 tsp chopped thyme leaves
- 1 x 400g tin coconut milk (low fat)
- 100g (about 1 small bag) baby spinach leaves
- a handful of coriander leaves, chopped
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
If you have any trouble with cutting and chopping ingredients we have a useful factsheet on gadgets and aids and you can also buy pre-cut items in shops.
Method:
Rub the fish fillets all over with the lime juice, 1 teaspoon of the curry powder and season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
Meanwhile, make the sauce. Heat the oil in a deep frying pan with a lid over a medium heat, add the ginger, spring onions, garlic, chilli and red pepper and cook for 5 minutes. Stir in the remaining curry powder and thyme and cook for 1 minute. Add the coconut milk and simmer, uncovered, for 8–10 minutes until the sauce has thickened.
Add the fish, pushing it down into the sauce, and cover the pan with a lid. Simmer gently for 8–10 minutes, or until the fish flakes easily. Sprinkle over the spinach and coriander leaves in the last couple of minutes of cooking. When it has softened in the steam, carefully push the leaves down into the sauce, between the fish, to avoid breaking up the fillets.
Serve in warm bowls, with rice and a sprinkling of the reserved spring onion slices.