Baked fish fillets with sauce financière

This classic creamy French sauce from Lyon is usually served with quenelles, but here I’m putting it with simple baked fish. Speed up the sauce cooking time by using the microwave to par-cook the mushrooms!

Credit: Jiwon Kim

• serves

  2

• prep

  5 minutes

• cook

  15 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 2 fillets blue-eye cod, or any other white fish (180-200 g each)
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 150 g button mushrooms
• 50 g butter
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 50 g flour
• ¼ cup dry white wine
• 1 tbsp brandy
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 150 ml thickened cream
• 100 g pitted green olives, rinsed
• Salt and black pepper

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 220˚C (200˚C fan-forced). Line a baking tray with baking paper and top with the fish fillets. Drizzle with the olive oil and bake for 12 minutes, or until just cooked through.
   
2. While the fish is cooking, microwave the mushrooms for 4 minutes. Melt the butter in a medium frying pan, and then add the mushrooms and cook, tossing, until lightly browned. Stir through the tomato paste, followed by the flour. Cook for 2 minutes, then stir through the wine and brandy and cook for a further minute. Add the chicken stock and cook, stirring, until the sauce is the consistency of pouring cream.
   
3. Stir through the cream and olives with a generous pinch of salt and pepper. Divide the baked fish between plates, pour over the sauce financière and serve immediately.
   

Photography by Jiwon Kim.

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Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.