Picture this: Soft, flaky fish cooked to perfection, drenched in lemony garlic and herb butter, scooped into your mouth along with your favourite sides, topped off with a big glass of your best wine.

Now check out what I made last night and see the picture in your mind become my reality.

Seriously, if anyone reading this ever wants to make a super easy, speedy fish dish, this is definitely the one to make!

Who’s hungry? Vincent and I (and the cat, who was practically drooling throughout this process). This recipe serves 4.

Ingredients

• 1 kg hake fillets
• 100 g shredded Parmesan cheese
• 100 g garlic and herb butter, softened
• 2 tbsp mayonnaise
• 3 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 lemon
• 1 cup green onions, chopped
• 2 tsp dried dill
• 3 dashes Tabasco sauce
• salt & pepper

Let’s cook

Turn on the oven grill. Add the Parmesan, butter, mayo, lemon juice, green onion, dill, Tabasco, salt and pepper to a mixing bowl.

When mixed, it should look a little something like this. Keep it aside for later.

Arrange the fish in a single layer in the baking dish. Sprinkle some salt and pepper over it. Cut the lemon in half and squeeze its juice all over the fish.

Add the lemon slices to the dish then put it in the oven on the top rack, closest to the grill. Cook for 8 minutes.

Now is the perfect time to pour a glass of wine. I’m having Robertson Winery’s Ruby Cabernet.

Remove the dish from the oven and very gently spoon the Parmesan mixture onto the fish. Put it back into the oven.

2 to 5 minutes later it should look like this.

By now you should have made sides too. I made cauli rice for myself and enjoyed my meal with a little scoop of store-bought coleslaw. Vincent had air-fried chips, coleslaw and a spoonful of store-bought potato salad.

Let’s eat

Serve your fish with heaps of that delicious melted butter sauce and a fresh slice of lemon on the side. Don’t forget to garnish with a sprinkle of freshly chopped green onions.

Try my recipe!