Norrington-Davies says: “If pike eludes you, try this dish with a robust alternative such as eel or monkfish. It also works with squid or cuttlefish.”

Serves 4

Ingredients

Salt and freshly ground black pepper
12 round shallots, peeled 200ml red wine
300ml of light chicken stock
50g unsalted butter
100g piece of smoked streaky bacon, cut into 1cm lardons
4 fillets of pike, each weighing around 180g
2 tbsp freshly chopped parsley
1 clove of garlic, finely chopped

Method

First bring a small pot of water to the boil, add a pinch of salt, and then drop in your whole shallots. Bring the pot back up to the boil, turn the heat down to a medium flame and simmer the shallots for three to four minutes or until they have softened. Drain them and set aside.

Pour the red wine into another pan, bring it up to the boil and then boil rapidly to reduce by half. Add the stock and boil again for another three to four minutes minutes.

In a wide pan over a low heat, gently fry the bacon lardons in the butter until they are golden and crisp. This should take about four minutes; going slowly avoids burning the butter. Add the shallots, turning them to coat in the butter, then pour over the red wine and bring up to a gentle simmer.

Season the pike fillets with salt and black pepper and drape them over the top of the shallots and bacon. Cover the pan and gently cook the fish fillets for about five to six minutes or until the fillets are opaque.

Meanwhile, with the tips of your fingers, rub together the chopped parsley and garlic.

Carefully transfer the fillets from the pan onto warmed plates, spoon the sauce, bacon and shallots over the fish and sprinkle the parsley and garlic over the top.