Recipes: Savour Easter with pickled fish and hot cross buns

Easter represents seasonal changes; it is autumn, and with it comes cooler weather. In South Africa, it has become a tradition to celebrate this time of year with pickled fish and hot cross buns. 

For days, the smell of fried fish, onions and curry will waft through the air, signalling the start of the holy weekend. Recipes are shared, and everyone looks forward to enjoying the taste of pickled fish. And what better way to slurp up the flavourful sauce than with hot cross buns? 

If you are still unsure how to make pickled fish or you want to try a different recipe this year, we share Johannesburg food stylist and cookbook author Dianne Bibby’s delicious version. 

You can make your pickled fish a few days before Good Friday – store it in an airtight, clean glass container in the fridge. Pickled fish will keep for up to a month if stored safely.

Traditional pickled fish by Dianne Bibby

Make the traditional pickled fish recipe, which was guided by Bibby’s mother as well as South African culinary legend Magdalene van Wyk.

Serves 6-8

• 1 kg firm white fish (kingklip or hake), whole or cut into portions
• 30ml (2 tablespoons) olive oil
• 2 brown onions, finely diced
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• Thumb-sized piece fresh ginger, grated
• 2.5ml (½ teaspoon) fennel seeds, crushed
• 5ml (1 teaspoon) whole coriander seeds, crushed
• 5ml (1 teaspoon) garam masala
• 10ml (2 teaspoons) ground turmeric
• 15ml (1 tablespoon) curry powder
• 5ml (1 teaspoon) salt
• 45ml (3 tablespoons) sugar
• 3 bay leaves
• 375ml (1 ½ cups) white wine vinegar
• 300ml water

METHOD:

1. Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan and sauté the onions for about 10 minutes until soft and translucent.
2. Add the garlic and ginger and cook for a further 2 minutes.
3. Now add all the aromatics (spices) and cook for a further 3 minutes.
4. Add the salt, sugar, bay leaves, vinegar and water. Simmer for 20 minutes.
5. Place the fish carefully in the pan and spoon the sauce over the fillet. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes until cooked through.
6. Lift the fish carefully from the pan with a fish slice and place in a non-metallic dish.
7. Transfer the sauce to a processor and blitz until smooth. Pour the sauce over the fish and cover with cling film.
8. Chill for 2-3 days.
9. Serve the pickled fish at room temperature with red onion pickle, if you wish, and crusty baguettes alongside.

This veggie-fied ‘pickled fish’ is perfect for Easter

Hot cross buns with honey butter

Nothing screams winter like the scent of cinnamon and nutmeg from freshly baked hot cross buns. Bibby has just the warm and cozy recipe for you.

INGREDIENTS

• Buns
• 550g cake wheat flour (all-purpose)
• 70g (⅓ cup) castor sugar
• 2.5ml (½ teaspoon) salt
• 12.5ml (2½ teaspoons) ground cinnamon
• 5ml (1 teaspoon) mixed spice
• 1.25ml (¼ teaspoon) nutmeg
• 7g (2 teaspoons) instant yeast
• 310ml (1 ¼ cups) full cream milk
• 1 egg (xl)
• 75g (½ stick plus 1 tablespoon) salted butter, softened
• Zest of 1 orange and 1 lemon
• 125g (¾ cup) dried fruit (raisins and sultanas)
• 50g (¼ cup) candied orange peel

Piped crosses

75g cake wheat flour combined with 75ml (about ⅓ cup) cold water

Glaze

• 30ml (2 tablespoons) butter
• 30ml (2 tablespoons) honey

 METHOD:

1. Sift all the dry ingredients into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment.
2. In a small jug, whisk together the milk and egg. Add the milk mixture and butter to the flour and mix to combine. Knead for 6-8 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic. Add the citrus zest, dried fruit and peel. Mix on a low speed until the fruit is evenly incorporated.
3. Transfer the dough to an oiled bowl, cover and set aside to proof until doubled in size, about 1 ½ hours.
4. Turn the dough out onto a floured board. Divide into 15 equal portions. Roll into smooth-domed rounds. Arrange in a lined baking tin, allowing a little space for spreading. Cover loosely with a clean tea towel and set aside to proof until doubled in size, about 40-50 minutes.
5. Preheat the oven to 200ºC.
6. For the crosses, transfer the paste into a piping bag fitted with a fine tip nozzle. Pipe crosses over the buns. Bake for about 25 minutes until golden and cooked through.
7. Heat the butter and honey together until melted. Brush the honey butter over the hot buns. Rest the hot cross buns in the tin for about 10 minutes before removing them to a wire rack to cool.

ALSO READ: Time for pickled fish, but plan for a healthy Easter

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