Delia Smith Italian Baked Fish

Delia Smith’s Italian baked fish is cod topped with a thick tomato, mushroom and caper sauce, finished with black olives. It bakes at 190°C (Gas 5) for 25 minutes, serves 4, and takes under an hour from start to plate.

The recipe comes from Delia’s Complete Cookery Course, where she notes her personal preference: “my own personal choice is cod steaks on the bone.” She also offers a variation with chopped fennel leaves stirred into the sauce before baking.

The sauce gets cooked fully on the hob before it goes near the fish. Delia simmers the tomatoes for 15 minutes, adds mushrooms for another 10, then spoons the thick result over the raw cod. The fish bakes in concentrated flavour, not watery juice.

Delia Smith Italian Baked Fish

Recipe by Pinch PerfectCourse: DinnerCuisine: BritishDifficulty: Easy

Servings

4

servings

Prep time

10

minutes

Cooking time

50

minutes

Calories

250

kcal

Total time

1

hour 

Cod baked under a rich tomato and mushroom sauce with basil, capers and black olives. From Delia’s Complete Cookery Course, a midweek supper that needs no special equipment beyond a saucepan and a baking dish.

Ingredients

• 4 thick pieces cod, or other white fish

• 12 black olives

• Salt and freshly milled black pepper

• 2 tablespoons olive oil

• 1 medium onion, finely chopped

• 1 fat clove garlic, crushed

• 450g (1 lb) ripe tomatoes, peeled and chopped, or 1 x 400g (14 oz) tin Italian tomatoes

• 110g (4 oz) mushrooms, thinly sliced

• 1 level tablespoon fresh chopped basil

• 1 level tablespoon capers, chopped

• Juice of ½ lemon

• 1 dessertspoon fennel leaves, chopped (optional)

Directions

• Preheat: Set the oven to 190°C/Gas 5 (375°F).
• Start the sauce: Heat the olive oil in a saucepan and fry the onion for about 5 minutes.
• Simmer the tomatoes: Add the garlic and tomatoes, season with salt and pepper, then bring to simmering point and cook gently, uncovered, for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Add the mushrooms: Add the sliced mushrooms, making sure they are well stirred in. Simmer for a further 10 minutes until it looks like a thick sauce.
• Finish the sauce: Stir in the fresh basil and chopped capers.
• Prepare the fish: Place the fish in a shallow baking dish or tin, season with salt and pepper and sprinkle a little lemon juice on each piece.
• Assemble: Spoon an equal quantity of the sauce on to each piece of fish and arrange a few olives on top.
• Bake: Cover the dish with foil and bake on a high shelf for about 25 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fish.

Notes

• Delia says to serve with new potatoes or brown rice and a tossed green salad. She also suggests adding a dessertspoon of chopped fennel leaves to the sauce before pouring it over the fish.

FAQs

Why does Delia cook the tomato sauce separately before baking?

Delia simmers the onion, garlic and tomatoes on the hob for a full 15 minutes before the mushrooms go in. That initial reduction cooks off most of the water in the tomatoes, concentrating the flavour and thickening the sauce. Raw tomatoes poured straight over fish would release liquid in the oven.

The mushrooms then get another 10 minutes, which softens them and lets them absorb the tomato flavour. By the time the sauce goes on the fish, it’s thick enough to sit on top rather than pool around the base. I’ve tried skipping this step and the cod ends up sitting in thin, watery liquid.

What white fish can I use instead of cod?

Delia writes that “four pieces of any white fish can be used,” so she’s deliberately flexible here. Haddock, pollock or hake all work because they have a similar flake and hold together under the sauce. Choose thick pieces so they don’t overcook in the 25 minutes.

Avoid very thin fillets like plaice or sole, which would cook through in half the time and fall apart under the weight of the sauce. If you’re using something firmer like monkfish, add 5 minutes to the baking time. Delia’s preference for cod on the bone is worth noting because the bone keeps the flesh together and adds flavour to the juices.

Why does the recipe include mushrooms in an Italian fish sauce?

It’s unusual for a Mediterranean fish recipe, but Delia’s version sits between a classic Italian sugo and a French provençale sauce. The mushrooms add body and make the sauce more substantial, turning a light fish supper into something closer to a complete meal.

She specifies 110g (4 oz) of thinly sliced mushrooms, which cook down to almost nothing in bulk but add an earthy base note. If you’d rather keep it more traditionally Italian, you could leave them out. The sauce will be thinner without them, so reduce the simmer time by about 5 minutes.

Can I use tinned tomatoes instead of fresh?

Yes, and Delia specifically gives both options in her ingredients list: “ripe tomatoes, peeled and chopped, or 1 x 400g tin Italian tomatoes.” The tinned version is often better in winter when fresh tomatoes lack flavour. Drain off a little of the juice before adding them to the pan.

If you’re using fresh, Delia says to peel them first. Score a cross on the base, blanch for 30 seconds in boiling water, then drop them into cold water so the skins slip off. I use tinned most of the year because they give a sweeter, more reliable result.

What does Delia suggest serving alongside this fish?

Delia recommends new potatoes or brown rice with a tossed green salad. Both are plain enough to let the sauce do the talking. If you’re looking for another Delia dish that pairs well, her roasted tomato salad from the Summer Collection would echo the Mediterranean flavours.

Crusty bread is another option that Delia doesn’t mention but suits the dish well, because you’ll want something to mop up the sauce. For a fuller meal, her Greek lamb could go in the oven at the same time if you started it 2 hours earlier at its lower temperature.

Can I prepare Italian baked fish ahead of time?

You can make the tomato sauce up to 2 days ahead and store it covered in the fridge. Cool it completely before refrigerating. When you’re ready to serve, reheat the sauce gently until warm, spoon it over the raw fish and bake as directed.

Don’t assemble the fish with the sauce and leave it sitting in the fridge, though. The acid from the tomatoes and lemon juice will start to “cook” the surface of the cod, giving it a ceviche-like texture. Keep the sauce and fish separate until just before the dish goes in the oven.