Fish and citrus are a no-brainer, although lemon and lime are the more usual pairings. Here, mandarins in a buttery sauce prove to be more than up to the job.
Ingredients
Garlic mash
Mandarin and fennel sauce
Method
Main
1.For the garlic mash, cover the potato in a large saucepan with plenty of cold salted water, bring to the boil and cook until tender (15-20 minutes). Drain and return to pan to steam dry. In a separate saucepan, bring cream, butter and garlic to a simmer, then add to potato and mash until smooth. Season to taste.
2.Meanwhile, preheat oven to 200C. Place snapper skin-side down on a large roasting tray lined with baking paper. Drizzle with oil, scatter with mandarin and lemon rinds and season to taste. Roast until cooked through (8-10 minutes).
3.For mandarin and fennel sauce, heat a large frying pan over medium-high heat, add fennel seeds and dry-roast until fragrant (30 seconds). Add mandarin and lemon juice, and season to taste. Bring to the boil, then, whisking constantly, add butter a piece at a time, whisking until thick and smooth before adding next cube. Add mandarin and lemon pieces and fennel fronds and simmer to warm through.
4.Toss fennel in a bowl with extra olive oil and extra lemon juice to taste, and season. Scatter snapper with fennel, spoon mandarin sauce on top and serve with garlic mash.
