Caesar Flathead Fillets – By Anthony Davies

We don’t catch a lot of flathead around my home port of Cairns, but they do turn up from time to time in cooler weather , usually taken as bycatch on lures meant for jacks or barra. I do a lot of whiting fishing over winter, and I always have a butterflied herring bait set out for the flatties that hang out on the same shallow flats as the whiting. This recipe is my favourite way to fry up a pair of flathead fillets.

Murray with an eating size Dusky Flathead of about 60cm

Ingredients

simple Caesar Salad

1 small Cos lettuce, shredded

half a red capsicum, cut into strips

2 rashers bacon

2 slices white bread, toasted golden

1/4 cup mayonnaise

1 x 45g can anchovy fillets in olive oil, oil reserved

olive oil spray

handful grated or shaved Parmesan cheese

Caesar Flathead Fillets

2 skinned fillets from a “slot size” fish of about 60cm, approx 200g each

plain flour for dusting

reserved oil from the anchovies

fry the lightly floured fillets in the anchovy oil

Method

Cut the bacon into 1cm squares and fry over medium heat in a non stick frypan until crisp. Drain on paper towels and wipe the fat from the pan .

Mash two of the anchovy fillets thoroughly with the back of a spoon. Mix the resulting paste with the mayonnaise and reserve. Cut the remaining fillets in two.

Lightly spray the toasted bread with olive oil and cut into 1cm squares.

Combine the shredded lettuce, capsicum strips , anchovy fillets and toast bits with the cheese in a large salad bowl. Toss through the mayonnaise dressing just before serving.

Meanwhile, return the frypan to a medium heat and add the reserved anchovy oil.

Lightly dust the fillets with flour and add them to the pan. Flathead fillets are kinda sausage shaped so they tend to roll rather than turn, you will need about 8 minutes cooking time for 200g fillets.

The extra flavour of the bacon and anchovy oil adds extra zing to the mild flavoured flatty fillets, and ties in nicely with the accompanying salad.