John Dory with tropical fruit salsa and couscous
Fish is a great source of protein and with all the fruity flavours, this recipe is naturally low in salt and fat.
Chef
Ingredients
4 John Dory fillets (approximately 100g each)
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
½ lime
Ground black pepper
200g couscous
200ml boiling water
Mango vinegar
75g mango
30ml white wine vinegar
30ml water
110g white sugar
1 vanilla pod, seeds only
Tropical fruit salsa
175g fresh pineapple
175g fresh mango
175g fresh papaya
½ red chilli
1 tablespoon red onion
½ teaspoon root ginger
1 tablespoon fresh coriander
Method
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Step 1
To prepare the mango vinegar, peel, destone and dice the mango. Bring the water and sugar to the boil and add the vanilla seeds. Continue to boil for two minutes. Remove from the heat and add the white wine vinegar and mango. Pour this into a blender and puree into a smooth paste.
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Step 2
Peel, core, deseed or destone the fruits and dice into 0.5cm cubes. Deseed and finely chop the red chilli and peel and finely dice the red onion. Peel and finely grate the root ginger and chop the coriander. Combine in a bowl and mix well. Measure out the couscous.
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Step 3
Pour boiling water over the couscous, cover and leave for 5-10 minutes. Heat a frying pan until smoking. Brush the fish with olive oil and lime juice, season with freshly ground black pepper. Sear the fish over a medium high heat for 5 minutes on each side until cooked through. Remove from heat and set aside.
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Step 4
Fluff the couscous up with a fork and it is ready to serve. Combine the mango vinegar with the tropical salsa. Place a small mound of salsa in the centre of each plate. Place a fillet of fish on top of each mound and spoon over more salsa to serve.
Food facts
The main source of carbohydrate in this meal is from the couscous, the salsa and the vinegar. The total carbohydrate value has been provided for those trained in insulin adjustment.
This meal contains two portions of fruit per serving. Mango and papaya are particularly high in potassium but as the quantities used in this recipe are small and if no other vegetables are served then the dish can be eaten as part of a low potassium diet.
This meal is not very high in phosphate. If you have been prescribed a phosphate binder ensure you take them with this dish.
Fish is high in protein and low in fat. If you have been advised to reduce your protein you can the portion of fish used.
Serve with rice instead of couscous for a gluten-free alternative.
You can substitute John Dory for any sustainably sourced white fish such as halibut or sea bass. Try using drained, tinned fruit instead of fresh or swapping the vanilla pods for ¼ teaspoon of vanilla extract for a cheaper option.
Fish should be fresh when cooked. The salsa can be made in advance if it is not mixed with the mango vinegar until ready to serve, but is also best eaten the same day.
If you have had a transplant you should buy your fish pre-packaged, rather than from a fresh fish counter, in order to avoid any risk of bacterial contamination.
When making your couscous, if you don’t have a bowl with a lid you can cover the bowl with a plate or use cling film.
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