Recipes to dial up the garlic

Saute of snapper with fresh tomato and olive sauce

8 cloves garlic, peeled

sea salt and freshly ground pepper

4 x 180g fillets of snapper, skin on

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

100g unsalted butter

50ml good-quality red wine vinegar

3 vine-ripened tomatoes, peeled, deseeded and diced

12 black olives, stones removed, roughly chopped

3 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley

Serves 4

Place the garlic in a saucepan of salted water and bring to the boil. Immediately refresh in cold water and repeat until the garlic is tender.

Dry the fish with paper towels and season with sea salt.

Heat the olive oil and half the butter in a heavy-based saucepan over medium heat until hot. Add the fish pieces skin side down and cook for 5 minutes or until the skin is nice and crisp. Turn the fish over and add the garlic. Cook for a further 3 minutes until the fish is about three-quarters done.

Remove the fish and keep it warm; the residual heat will continue to cook the fish as it rests.

Add the vinegar to the pan and scrape the bottom and sides with a wooden spoon to deglaze. Then add the tomatoes, olives and a little sea salt. Cook for 5 minutes then add the remaining butter and whisk until it melts and forms a sauce. Add the parsley and a little freshly ground pepper, then check the seasoning to finish.

Pour a little sauce on each plate and place fish on top. Serve immediately.

Broccoli and anchovy penne

500g broccoli (about two large heads)

100ml extra virgin olive oil, plus extra

12 anchovy fillets

5 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced

1/2 tsp chilli flakes

sea salt and freshly ground pepper

400g dried penne pasta

parmesan cheese, to serve

Serves 4

Grate the broccoli and set aside.

In a large frying pan over medium heat, heat the extra virgin olive oil and add the anchovies, garlic, chilli flakes and sea salt. Fry for 3 minutes, stirring continuously, until the anchovies start to melt into the oil.

Add the broccoli to the pan with a dash more oil. Braise the broccoli slowly for about 20 minutes, or until well cooked and soft.

Bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil. Add the pasta and cook for 8 minutes or until al dente. Stir the pasta through the sauce and cook for another minute.

To serve, spoon into four deep pasta bowls. Grate the parmesan over the top and finish with a grind of fresh pepper.

HOT TIPS

• The snapper can be replaced by any fish you like. The butter gives the sauce a really nice silkiness.

• We use thick steaks from larger fish - about 3kg to 5kg. If you use thin fillets, adjust the cooking time downwards to suit.

• Make sure the fish is a little undercooked in the kitchen so it's perfect by the time it gets to the table.

SOMETHING TO DRINK

Fiano
Originally hailing from southern Italy, the fiano grape variety is well-suited to the Australian climate. The 2013 Coriole Fiano ($25) from McLaren Vale is a lively wine with flavours of melon, lemon rind and stone fruits. The texture highlights the purity of the snapper, while the acidity complements the tomatoes.

Photography by William Meppem. Styling by Hannah Meppem. Food preparation by Dominic Smith.