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Words by Claudia Roden. Photo by Susan Bell.
Red mullet is often paired with black olives. They bring out its rosy tint and unique delicate flavor. There are olives and sun-dried tomatoes in these mashed potatoes, and sometimes I make an olivade (see below) to dab on the fish. The red mullet that I find at the fishmonger is usually in large fillets, not the small whole fish.
Claudia Roden’s Mediterranean: Treasured Recipes from a Lifetime of Travel cookbook is available here.
Red Mullet with Provencal Mashed Potatoes
Ingredients
- 1 lb 10 oz (740g) baking potatoes,, peeled
- 6 tbsp (90ml) extra-virgin olive oil, or a half-and-half mix of olive oil and sunflower oil
- salt and black pepper
- 16 black olives, pitted and coarsely chopped
- 16 sun-dried tomatoes in oil, coarsely chopped
- 1 fresh red chile, finely chopped (optional)
- 1 good handful chopped herbs, such as parsley, chives, and dill
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 4 large red mullet fillets, skin-on
Instructions
- Boil the potatoes in salted water until soft. Drain, keeping about 2/3 cup (160ml) of the cooking water. Mash the potatoes and beat in the extra-virgin olive oil or olive oil and sunflower oil. Season with salt and pepper and stir in just enough of the cooking water to give a soft, slightly moist mash. Then stir in the olives, tomatoes, chile (if using), and herbs and mix well.
- Warm the 2 tbsp oil in a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the fillets, skin-side down, and cook for about 3 minutes, then turn them over and cook for 30 seconds, until cooked through.
- Serve the fish with the mashed potatoes.
Notes
Olivade For an olive paste to serve with the fish, blend 2/3 cup (110g) pitted black olives with a crushed garlic clove, 7 tbsp (100ml) extra-virgin olive oil, and 1 tbsp sherry vinegar.
Reprinted with permission from Claudia Roden’s Mediterranean: Treasured Recipes from a Lifetime of Travel by Claudia Roden, copyright © 2021. Published by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of Penguin Random House.