Skip your usual battered fish recipe and try this gut-friendly walnut crusted hake with apple cider fermented radishes.

SERVES 4 // COOKING TIME 55 min, plus fermenting

INGREDIENTS
For the apple cider radishes
1 cup apple cider vinegar
½ cup apple juice
4 tbsp honey
1 star anise
3 cardamom pods, crushed
¼ cinnamon quill
1 tsp salt
20 radishes, thinly sliced
For the walnut crusted hake
½ cup walnuts, crushed
½ cup desiccated coconut
Handful chopped thyme
800 g hake fillets
1 egg, whisked
3 tbsp olive oil
1 lemon, sliced

METHOD
For the apple cider radishes
1. Bring the apple cider vinegar, apple juice, honey, star anise, cardamom, cinnamon and salt to a simmer in a small pot. Cool before pouring over radishes.
2. Leave out of the fridge for 5 hours or 1 day to ferment.
For the walnut crusted hake
1. Preheat oven to 180°C.
2. Combine walnuts, coconut and thyme.
3. Brush the top of the fish with egg and press in nut mixture. Drizzle with olive oil.
4. Bake for 20 minutes, until golden and the fish is cooked. Serve with the radishes and slices of lemon.

Recipe & styling: Chiara Turilli
Photography: Andreas Eiselen/HMimages.co.za