Rachel Roddy’s recipe for fish baked with tomatoes, olives and capers | A kitchen in Rome
Al cartoccio is the Italian form of en papillote, meaning “contained” or “in paper”, which is an effective cooking method that traps the moisture (and flavour) released from the ingredients and creates a steamy poaching chamber – it’s a bit like a Turkish bath for food! Once out of the oven, but still sealed, the scented steam trapped in the paper returns to liquid and creates a brothy sauce.Fish with firm white or pink flesh that breaks into fat flakes is particularly well suited to cooking al cartoccio, both whole fish (cleaned and on the bone) and individual filets (estimate 110g-140g per person).When choosing fish, keep in mind our collective default to cod and haddock, both members of the so-called “big five” that make up a staggering 80% of UK consumption.Instead, look out for other species, such as hake, huss or North Sea plaice, ASC-certified Scottish salmon, sea trout or farmed rainbow trout.For more detailed and updated advice, the Marine Conservation Society produces an invaluable, area-by-area good fish guide that uses a five-tiered system to rank both “best choice” and “fish to avoid” based on the species, location and fishing method.
Also, don’t forget how well fish freezes, so always check the frozen food section, too.Typical seasonings for fish cooked al cartoccio are lemon, parsley, olive oil and salt, maybe a dash of dry vermouth or wine, which, when combined, produce a wonderful, fresh-tasting broth.A change, and a seasonal, summery variation is to sit the fish on segments of fleshy sweet tomatoes, which (especially if the tomato is peeled and the seeds flicked away) collapse into an almost-sauce reminiscent of puttanesca, along with olive oil, slivers of garlic, small black olives and capers or caper berries.I also like a few fennel seeds or feathery fresh fennel fronds, which add a pleasing, aniseed note, if you like that sort of thing.To protect the precious juices, I lift the pouches on to plates and let everyone open their own, but not without a warning that the steam can puff out quite aggressively.
Once everyone has carefully tipped everything on to their plate, pass around buttered potatoes, rice, couscous or toast rubbed with garlic and olive oil; mayonnaise or aïoli is also great here.The other day, I made aïoli according to Alastair Little, which was also a reason to pull his book, Keep It Simple, off the shelf.He is an advocate of the food processor for aïoli, with one egg yolk and two crushed garlic cloves for every 300ml olive oil-sunflower oil added in a steady stream, plus lemon juice and white pepper to taste.It’s an emphatic sauce for a steamy braise.Serves 41 large, fleshly beefsteak tomato 4 tbsp olive oil2 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced Salt and pepper 4 x 110-140g fillets firm-fleshed white fish (eg cod, bream, hake) 4 parsley sprigs 16 olives 2 tbsp capers Fennel seeds, or feathery fennel fronds, to taste (optional) 100ml white wineHeat the oven to 200C (180C fan)/390F/gas 6 and prepare four squares of baking paper measuring 23cm.
Peel the tomato by covering it first with boiling water for two minutes, then dunking it into cold water, at which point the skin should pull away,Cut the tomato into 12 or so segments, then discard the seeds and any white bits,Rub the centre of the four pieces of paper with olive oil, then put a couple of segments of tomatoes in the middle of each one,Insert a sliver or two of garlic into the gaps, sprinkle with salt and top with a tablespoon of olive oil,Lay the fish fillets on top of the tomatoes, then top each one with a sprig of parsley, a couple of bits of tomato, a few more slivers of garlic, a few olives, capers, fennel seeds or fronds, if you want, some salt and pepper, and a little more olive oil.
Lift up two opposite edges of the paper and fold over, crunching the edges to form a long, sealed pouch,Lift the pouches on to a baking tray and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the fish flakes easily with a fork and the tomatoes are very tender and sauce-like,
Ellie Kildunne hands England boost with return for Rugby World Cup semi-final
England’s world player of the year, Ellie Kildunne, is expected to be ready to play against France in the Women’s Rugby World Cup semi‑final against France on Saturday after missing the 40-8 quarter-final win against Scotland on Sunday.The full-back did not play against Scotland because of concussion protocols, but afterwards the Red Roses head coach, John Mitchell, said: “We have a clean bill of health I think. Ellie is back running, back into collision work and she is going good.”Kildunne sustained a head injury in England’s final pool match against Australia and was taken off with concussion symptoms. That meant she has had to go through a mandatory 12-day stand-down period
England still favourites to lift Rugby World Cup, but betting on them is another matter | Robert Kitson
Roses are red, Scotland in blue, the stakes are rising, how will they do? The scoreboard answer from a soaking wet Bristol was predictable enough. When bookmakers start quoting prices of 1000-1 on for a team to win a two‑horse race, the chances of England failing to reach the semi‑finals were roughly on a par with anyone in the stands getting sunstroke.With it came yet another record statistic for John Mitchell’s bunch of serial winners. No leading international rugby side in history has previously won 31 Tests in a row as England’s women have now done: 61 victories in their past 62 Tests leaves precious little room for people to question their pedigree or killer instinct.Yet would you absolutely put your mortgage on England hoisting the World Cup in just under a fortnight? This may, of course, depend on the precise sum of money involved and the potential availability of other emergency income streams
England 40-8 Scotland: Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 quarter-final – as it happened
Here is Sarah Rendell’s match report from a blustery Ashton Gate, where England won their 31st game in a row. Two more to go. Thanks for joining me, enjoy your evenings.France will be England’s semi-final opponents, but only after Ireland gave them an almighty scare earlier today:Some words from Bryan Easson on his final game as Scotland head coach. “We did what we wanted to do, reaching the knockout stages
Brendon McCullum mulls appointing Harry Brook as England vice-captain for Ashes
Harry Brook could replace Ollie Pope as England vice-captain for the Ashes after Brendon McCullum, the head coach, revealed it was up for discussion in an otherwise “easy” squad to select.Speaking after an afternoon of solid rain in Nottingham caused a washout of the third Twenty20 between England and South Africa – the international home summer ending with a 1-1 series draw – McCullum floated the possibility of Brook as deputy to Ben Stokes given his role as the limited-overs captain.McCullum said: “It’s no secret that Brook is emerging as a leader within English cricket, so that’s something we need to work out. But whatever happens, a great team understands that just because you haven’t got a [leadership] title, doesn’t stop you from being a leader.”A switch would be a blow to Pope, who has been vice-captain since late 2022 and led the team five times during this time
England blow away Scotland to set up World Cup semi-final against France
Torrential rain and blustery conditions meant there was no champagne rugby on display in Bristol but the occasion more than lived up to the hype with a sold-out Ashton Gate cheering England to a comfortable win against Scotland to book their spot in the Rugby World Cup semi-finals, where they will face France.Some had worried the conditions may have seen some supporters not turn out but the doubters were proved wrong with the stands full to the brim to witness the Red Roses break their own world record of consecutive wins as the victory took them to 31 in a row.The quarter-final also proved to be the hottest ticket in town with the USA player Ilona Maher returning after watching Canada’s win against Australia on Saturday and the former England goalkeeper Mary Earps was also in the stands.The players had to play the conditions in front of them which led to lulls in the game with handling errors littered throughout but there were good performances on display. The prop Kelsey Clifford started in place of Hannah Botterman and she backed up her two tries from last weekend with another double, while it was also a special day for Abby Dow as she scored her 50th try for England, becoming just the sixth Red Rose to do so
Manchester City honour Ricky Hatton, ‘one of our most loved supporters’
Manchester City paid tribute to “one of their most loved supporters” when they held a minute’s appreciation on Sunday before the derby against Manchester United to honour Ricky Hatton after his death – with the City manager, Pep Guardiola, saying the news was “tough to wake up to”.The 46-year-old Hatton, a lifelong City fan, was found dead in his Manchester home on Sunday morning, with police confirming his death was not being treated as suspicious. Guardiola led the tributes to the former world champion boxer.“It was tough news to wake up to,” the City manager said. “Of course he had success and was world champion, but it’s the loss for his family, his kids – he was a grandad
Seth Meyers on Charlie Kirk shooting: ‘Political violence is abhorrent to the highest ideals of this country’
Shrinking audiences, a cash crisis and rivals on the rise: what’s gone wrong at Tate?
Protesters target Royal Opera House over performance by ‘Putin’s diva’
And if your head explodes: Pink Floyd’s 20 best songs – ranked!
Stephen Colbert on Charlie Kirk shooting: ‘Political violence only leads to more political violence’
Jerry Seinfeld compares Free Palestine movement to Ku Klux Klan