Ingredients

Step by step

1. First, make the pepper sauce. Preheat the grill to high, then line a baking tray with foil and lightly oil it. Halve and deseed the peppers and chillies. Place them skin-side up on the baking tray, then grill them until their skins are black and blistered (the chillies will be ready first, so remove them and continue cooking the peppers). When they're ready, wrap them in the foil and leave for 15 minutes to soften and steam, then skin them.
2. Meanwhile, heat 3 tablespoons of oil in a small frying pan. Cook the garlic, almonds and bread gently until golden brown; cool. Whiz in a food processor with the peppers, chillies and paprika. Add the vinegar, to taste, and remaining oil, then blitz again to make a rough purée. Adjust the seasoning with salt and a splash more vinegar, if needed. Whiz in the parsley, then set aside.
3. For the fish, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil and the butter in a medium pan. Gently fry the onions and garlic with a good pinch of salt, uncovered, for 10 minutes until the onions are soft and golden. Add the wine and 2 strips of lemon zest and cook very gently for another 30 minutes to form a sweet, concentrated onion mixture. Preheat the oven to 220°C, fan 200°C, gas 7. Spread the onion mixture over the base of a flameproof baking dish or roasting tin large enough to hold the fish in a single layer, then stir in three-quarters of the stock. Pour the remaining stock over the saffron in a small bowl and leave it to steep. Place the fish on top of the onion mixture, then ...season with salt, pepper and a squeeze of lemon. Scatter the ham and pine nuts over the fish and drizzle with the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil. Cover with foil and bake for 25 minutes.
4. Uncover, baste the fish with the juices and bake, uncovered, for 10 minutes more, or until it's cooked (small steaks may take a few minutes less to cook). Transfer the fish to a warm serving dish and keep warm. Place the baking dish on the hob or pour the onions and juices into a pan and heat until bubbling. Pour in the saffron and liquid and boil for a few minutes to reduce a little. Remove the lemon zest, stir in the cream and let it bubble. Add a little more stock if the sauce is too thick, stir in the parsley, then spoon it around the fish. Serve immediately with the pepper sauce.