Adam Liaw’s pan-fried whiting with lemon pepper butter

Name: Adam Liaw’s pan-fried whiting with lemon pepper butter
Cook time: 2 h 30 min
Yield: 4-6
Cuisine: Contemporary
Ingredients: 40g butter; 800g whiting fillets; 1 tbsp roughly chopped flat-leaf parsley; 1 avocado, to serve; lemon wedges, to serve; sourdough, to serve

Adam Liaw

December 10, 2024

Pan-fried whiting with lemon.William Meppem

easyTime:2 hours +Serves:4-6

Nothing could be simpler, or more delicious, than these delightfully seasoned fish fillets.

Ingredients

40g butter
800g whiting fillets
1 tbsp roughly chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 avocado, to serve
lemon wedges, to serve
sourdough, to serve

Lemon pepper seasoning (makes extra)

2 lemons
3 tsp black peppercorns
½ tsp fennel seeds
½ tsp coriander seeds
1 tbsp flake salt

Method

Step 1
Heat your oven to 80C. Peel the zest from the lemons (reserving the peeled lemons), place on a baking tray with the peppercorns, fennel seeds and coriander seeds and bake in the oven for about 2 hours, until the lemon zest is dry. Grind to a coarse powder in a spice grinder or using a mortar and pestle. Mix with the flake salt.
Step 2
Heat a frying pan over medium heat and add half the butter. Season the fillets with the lemon pepper and fry for just 1-2 minutes on each side until nearly cooked through. Add the remaining butter and scatter with more of the seasoning. Squeeze in a lemon wedge, transfer everything to a serving plate and scatter with parsley. Pour the butter from the pan over the fish. Serve with sliced avocado, lemon wedges and chunks of fresh sourdough.

Adam’s tip: Don’t skip toasting the spices in the lemon pepper seasoning. It hugely enhances their flavour and makes them easier to grind in a mortar and
pestle as well.

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