Baked Sea Bream Rick Stein Food

BAKED SEA BASS WITH ROASTED RED PEPPERS, TOMATOES, ANCHOVIES AND POTATOES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/gas 6. Place the saffron in a teacup, pour over 2 tablespoons of hot water and leave to soak. Put the potatoes in a pan of boiling salted water and boil for 7 minutes. Drain well and arrange them in a narrow strip over the base of a roasting dish large enough to hold the sea bass either lengthways or diagonally. The potatoes should form a bed for the fish, leaving plenty of room on either side for the red peppers. Scatter the tomatoes and anchovy fillets over the potatoes, then pour over the saffron water and stock. Scatter the pieces of red pepper down either side of the potatoes and sprinkle over the garlic, oregano sprigs and olive oil. Season everything well with salt and pepper and bake for 30 minutes. Slash the fish 5-6 times down each side and then slash it in the opposite direction on just one side to give an attractive criss-cross pattern. Rub it generously with some olive oil, season well with salt and pepper and then rest it on top of the potatoes. Return the dish to the oven and bake for a further 35 minutes, until the fish is cooked through. Serve with the roasted vegetables.

BAKED SEA BREAM WITH GARLIC AND ROSEMARY

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 220C/430F/Gas 7. Using a sharp, flexible knife, remove the fillets from the sea bream (or ask your fishmonger to do this for you).
• Place a large piece of aluminium foil, about 60cm/24in long, onto a work surface and cover with a layer of parchment paper almost the same size. Fold over the edges so that the foil and parchment are secured together.
• Place the fillets onto the parchment paper and scatter over the roasted garlic cloves (squeeze them gently to release the soft insides as you do so). Crumble over the dried chilli and scatter over some rosemary leaves. Season with sea salt and pour over the wine. Drizzle over the olive oil.
• Seal the parchment paper and foil around the fish. Start at the ends, rolling them inwards to ensure the ends are properly sealed, then crimp the sides to create a pasty-shaped parcel. The parcel should be tightly sealed so that the fish steams as it cooks without any steam escaping.
• Place the fish in a roasting tray and roast for 8-10 minutes.
• When cooked, remove from the oven and place onto a large serving plate. Carefully undo the foil and parchment, folding back the sides. To serve, sprinkle over some chopped fresh parsley and squeeze over fresh lemon juice to taste.

BAKED SEA BREAM WITH TOMATOES & CORIANDER

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Slice the potatoes thinly, put in a large saucepan and cover with cold salted water. Bring to the boil and drain, then lay onto the base of a lightly oiled large baking tray. Scatter over the garlic, chilli, saffron and a little of the coriander.
• Slash the fish through the flesh down to the bone - this allows it to cook evenly and quicker than normal. Season and rub with the olive oil. Lay the fish on the potatoes and top with the lime juice, wine, tomatoes and pine nuts. Lay the pancetta slices over the fish and bake for 20-25 mins or until the fish is cooked through. Check by pulling out one of the fins on the back, it should come away easily. Serve the fish scattered with the remaining coriander.

PAN-FRIED SEA BASS WITH CITRUS-DRESSED BROCCOLI

Steps:

• Before you start cooking, get everything prepared. Trim each sea bass fillet so they are both the same shape, then score the skin, cutting into the flesh slightly, 5 or 6 times at about 1cm intervals. Set aside.
• Segment the orange - slice off the top and bottom, then cut away the skin and pith. Cut away each segment, then squeeze out the juice from the rest of the orange into a bowl. Cut the broccoli into medium-size florets.
• To make the warm broccoli salad, cook the florets in a pan of boiling salted water for 1 min until just cooked. While the broccoli is cooking, put a frying pan on to heat. As soon as the broccoli is cooked, drain it, then tip straight into the hot frying pan to 'scorch' out all the moisture.
• Turn off the heat, then scatter the orange segments over the broccoli. Toss for a few moments just to heat through, then tip into a bowl and dress with the orange juice and 2 tbsp olive oil. Season with pepper and a small sprinkling of sea salt, then set aside.
• Wipe out the pan. Season the fish with a little salt and pepper just before cooking. Heat the frying pan until very hot, then add 2 tbsp oil. Lay the fish fillets in the pan, skin-side down. As soon as it goes in, press each fillet down with your fingers or a fish slice to stop it from curling up.
• Reduce the heat to medium, then leave the fish to cook for 3-4 mins, undisturbed, until you can see that the flesh has cooked two-thirds of the way up and the skin is crisp and brown.
• Flip the fillets over, then fry on the flesh side for about 2 mins until just done, basting the skin with the oil in the pan as it cooks. Leave to rest on a warm plate, skin-side up, and baste with the hot oil and juices from the pan.
• Pour 2 tbsp olive oil into the pan and place it back on a high heat. Scatter in the capers and anchovies, then cook until they start to crisp. Grate over the lemon zest and squeeze in the juice of ½ the lemon. If there isn't enough juices in the pan to drizzle over both plates, add a splash more oil. You are now ready to plate up.