In the lead up to Easter, it is common for Christians to abstain from eating certain foods during Lent. Some may chose to give up their favourite foods or beverages, like chocolate or coffee. Others may elect to remove meat from their daily menu or even dairy and eggs. Here is a delicious fish dish that I like to prepare for my family all year round and it is also suitable and satisfying during Lent. 

Friday Night Fish – Pan-fired snapper fillets and French beans in butter
This will serve two people but can be multiplied depending on how many mouths you are feeding. The snapper can be substituted for other medium density white fish fillets like barramundi or dory. 

If you are cooking for more than two, then I strongly suggest using several frypans to speed up the process and also to avoid crowding the fish. You want the fillets to pan fry, not stew. I used 4 frypans for my family of eight so that we could all sit down and enjoy dinner together. 

2 x fresh, filleted pieces of Australian or New Zealand Snapper
1 x small clove garlic crushed
finely grated rind of a small lemon, plus the juice
25 grams unsalted butter
1/2 tablespoon olive oil (the olive oil stops the butter from burning)
2 x handfuls French green beans, topped and tailed and sliced into thirds
sea salt and black pepper to taste

Using a large frypan, melt the butter and olive over a medium heat and add the garlic and lemon rind. Fry for a minute. 

Add the fish fillets, season with salt and pepper and cook until the outer edge of each fillet turns opaque and white. 

Flip over the fillets and scatter the beans throughout the pan and onto the fish. Give the pan a shake every now and then to coat the beans and fish with the buttery sauce. 

After about three minutes, the fish should have turned white. This will depend on the thickness of your fillets. Take a sharp, pointy knife and poke it into the centre of each fillet to check whether it is cooked through. If the centre is glassy looking, then keep the fish frying until it is white. 

Just before you take the pan off the heat, squeeze over the lemon juice and swirl the pan around. Then slide the fish and beans onto your serving plate and team with some fluffy steamed rice and a mixed salad.