Pan-fried snapper, chilli tomato salsa, sweet potato wedges
Crisp-skin snapper seared in the pan and finished in the air fryer, on a fresh chilli tomato salsa with air-fried sweet potato wedges and a rocket salad.
Before you start
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Make the salsa. Wash the cherry tomatoes, quarter each one and put them in a medium bowl.
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Add the chilli. Halve the chilli lengthways, scrape out the seeds if you want less heat (leave them in for more), finely chop it and add it to the bowl.
TipWash your hands well after handling chilli and before touching your face.
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Add the chives and lemon. Snip the chives into 1 cm½ in pieces. Finely grate the zest of half the lemon into the bowl, then squeeze in that half's juice. Cut the other half into 2 wedges for serving.
TipGrate only the bright yellow skin, not the white pith underneath. The pith tastes bitter.
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Finish the salsa. Stir in 1 tbsp of oil and a pinch of salt. Set it aside at room temperature.
TipMaking the salsa first gives the flavours time to come together while everything else cooks.
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Prep the salad. Peel the cucumber, halve it lengthways and slice it into half-moons about 5 mm¼ in thick. Put it in a bowl with the rocket, undressed.
TipWith the salad ready now, nothing gets forgotten when the fish comes out.
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Cut the wedges. Cut the sweet potato into wedges about 2 cm¾ in thick at the widest point, all roughly the same size.
TipHow to cut wedges: use a large chef's knife and hold the potato steady with your fingers curled under. Halve it lengthways, then halve each piece lengthways again, then once more, for 8 long wedges. Even wedges cook evenly, so none burn while others stay soggy.
Pan + air fryer
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Air fry the wedges. Heat the air fryer to 200°C400°F. Toss the wedges with 1 tbsp of oil and a pinch of salt and spread them in a single layer in the basket.
TipA single layer matters. Stacked wedges steam instead of crisping.
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Cook and shake. Cook for 18 to 20 minutes, shaking the basket halfway.
How you know it's doneGolden and crisp outside, soft when you press the thickest part with a fork.
Timer: 20 min -
Prep the fish. With about 8 minutes of wedge time left, pat the snapper completely dry with paper towel, especially the skin, and season both sides with salt and pepper.
TipDry skin crisps. Any moisture left on it steams instead of sears.
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Heat the pan. Put a medium frying pan over high heat with 1 tbsp of oil until it shimmers, about 30 seconds.
TipA properly hot pan is what stops the fish sticking.
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Sear the skin. Lay the fillets in skin side down, away from you, and press each one flat with a spatula for the first 30 seconds. Cook for 3 minutes without moving them.
TipHow to sear skin-side down: lowering the fish away from you sends any splashes away from your hand. Pressing stops the skin curling so it crisps evenly. If it sticks, it isn't ready to move; it releases on its own once seared.
How you know it's doneThe skin is deep golden and crisp, and the flesh has turned opaque about halfway up the side.
Timer: 3 min -
Finish in the air fryer. Move the fillets skin side up into the air fryer beside the wedges and cook at 200°C400°F for 3 to 4 minutes.
TipThe outside looks done well before the middle is. Finishing in the air fryer cooks the centre through without burning the skin.
How you know it's doneThe thickest part flakes easily when pressed with a fork and is opaque all the way through, or reads 63°C145°F on a thermometer.
Timer: 4 min
To finish
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Plate the salsa. Spoon the salsa across two plates as a base.
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Add the fish. Lay a fillet on each, skin side up.
TipSkin side up keeps the salsa's moisture from softening the crisp skin.
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Add the wedges and salad. Dress the rocket and cucumber with a teaspoon of oil and a pinch of salt, then add a handful and the wedges to each plate.
TipDress the salad at the last moment so the rocket doesn't wilt.
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Serve. Add a lemon wedge to each plate and eat straight away.
The first time I cooked this, the fish looked done in the pan but was raw in the middle, so now it finishes in the air fryer at 200°C400°F. Cutting the wedges evenly and cooking them in a single layer fixed the mix of burnt and soggy ones. One large sweet potato is plenty for two, and the salsa was the star.
Adapted from Women's Weekly Food. Rewritten by David, with their changes.