Rick Stein Sea Bream Food

BAKED SEA BREAM ROTA-STYLE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 180C/160C Fan/Gas 4.
• Arrange the potatoes in an ovenproof dish large enough to accommodate the sea bream. Season with salt and pepper and drizzle with 2 tablespoons oil. Bake for 20 minutes.
• In a lidded frying pan, warm 2 tablespoons oil over medium-low heat. Fry the onion, garlic and pepper for 10-15 minutes, or until soft. Add the tomatoes, bay leaf and a little water, cover with a lid and cook for 15 minutes.
• Season the fish with ½ teaspoon salt and 10 turns of the black peppermill. Place on top of the cooked potato.
• To make the picada, using a mortar and pestle, grind the parsley, garlic and salt together, then spread it over the fish.
• Add 4 tablespoons of water and the lemon juice to the dish, then pour the tomato mixture over everything. Drizzle over the remaining oil and the sherry and bake for 20-25 minutes. Scatter the parsley over the top and serve immediately.

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.

WHOLE ROAST BREAM WITH POTATOES & OLIVES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 220C/fan 200C/gas 7. Cook the potatoes in boiling water for about 10 mins, cut into thick slices, then cool. In a bowl, toss the potatoes with the olives, garlic, half the chopped parsley, half the olive oil, the lemon zest and salt and pepper. Tip this mix over the bottom of a medium gratin dish.
• Season the fish and place the parsley stalks in the cavity. Lay the fish on top of the potatoes and drizzle with the rest of the olive oil. Bake for 15 mins until the potatoes start to crisp up around the edges. Pour the wine over, then return to the oven for 10 mins more until the potatoes have browned and the fish is cooked.
• Remove the dish from the oven, scatter over the rest of the parsley and bring the dish to the table. When you serve up, don't forget the lovely white wine juices in the bottom of the dish. Delicious with a simple bowl of spinach.

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.