Fish Balls with Olives and Tomato Sauce

Ingredients

• 1 old-fashioned roll
• 600 g white fish fillet (e.g., cod)
• 50 g black, pitted olives
• 1 tbsp dried pickled tomatoes (in oil)
• 1 stalk dill
• 2 sprigs thyme
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp lemon zest
• semolina breadcrumbs (as needed)
• Salt
• freshly ground pepper
• 30 g clarified butter
• 1 Shallot
• 1 Garlic clove
• 600 g ripe tomatoes
• 250 ml vegetable broth
• 1 tbsp dried oregano
• 2 tbsp Tomato paste

Instructions

1. 1.

   Soak the roll in lukewarm water. Wash and pat dry the fish, then cut into very small cubes. Drain the olives and tomatoes and finely chop them. Rinse the herbs, shake dry, and finely chop the leaves. Mix the fish cubes with the squeezed-out roll crumbs, olives, tomatoes, egg, zest, and herbs into a smooth dough. If the mixture is too wet, fold in some breadcrumbs. Season with salt and pepper and shape small balls from the dough.

2. 2.

   Brown the balls in a pan with hot clarified butter until golden brown all around. For the tomato sauce, peel and finely chop the shallot and garlic, then sauté them in hot oil until translucent. Wash the tomatoes, quarter them, and add to the pot. Pour in the broth, season with salt and pepper, stir in oregano and tomato paste, and simmer over medium heat for 15-20 minutes. Purée the sauce, strain through a fine sieve, adjust seasoning, and serve with the fish balls.