Fresh Flounder with Capers and Horopito Butter

Horopito is a native shrub, which is also known as the pepper tree, and it lends a lovely spicy flavour to flounder in this dish. 

Serves 6-8 

Ingredients  

• 3 fresh flounder 
• 4 tablespoons butter, softened 
• 3 tablespoons finely chopped parsley 
• 2 tablespoons, capers 
• ½ teaspoon horopito 
• 1 teaspoon sea salt 
• 1-2 lemons, sliced thinly 

Method 

• Heat the oven grill to high. 
• Lay the flounder onto a large shallow baking tray and make a few cuts in the grey side of each of the flounder.  
• Mix together butter, parsley, capers, horopito, and salt, and rub this into the cuts and skin. Scatter over lemon slices. 
• Grill on high for 12-15 minutes or until butter is bubbling and fins crisp a bit. Change the oven from grill to bake at 180C, and cook for a further 7-10 minutes or until flesh is cooked through. 
• Squeeze some of the cooked lemon over and serve at the table! 

Nici’s note:  

Horopito is great for relieving stomach aches and toothaches, and it is available from various specialty or online food stores. Try this one.  

Kūmara hashbrown with nasturtium salad 

I use the purple/red kūmara for this recipe as it’s less watery and crisps up beautifully. Wild nasturtium leaves and flowers make a beautiful salad to go with this hashbrown. 

Serves 6-8  

Ingredients 

• 1kg red kūmara 
• 1 large onion, grated 
• ½ cup finely chopped fresh herbs – parsley, rosemary, sage etc 
• ½ teaspoon each sea salt and horopito (or use black pepper) 
• ¼ cup cooking oil 
• ½ cup sour cream 
• Juice from one lemon 
• 2 cups small nasturtium leaves and flowers 

Method 

1. Heat oven to 200C. 
2. Grate the kūmara onto a clean tea towel or chux cloth, gather the edges and wring to squeeze out the excess moisture.  
3. Transfer the kūmara to a large bowl and add in grated onion, fresh herbs, salt, and horopito, and half the cooking oil. Stir to combine. 
4. Pour the remaining oil into an ovenproof pan or dish. Tumble in the hashbrown mixture to form an even layer. Don’t press down, it will settle as it cooks. 
5. Bake for 30 minutes or until crispy and cooked through. 
6. Mix sour cream and lemon juice and spoon this over the cooked hashbrown. Top with nasturtium leaves and flowers and serve in wedges. 

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