True flavours of the Mediterranean – this dish is simple but impressive.
Cooking fish can seem intimidating to some people but this recipe for pan fried sea bass will show you how easy, and delicious, it can be to prepare at home. The crispy skinned bass is served alongside tender and golden sauteed courgettes. Adding the lemon zest and fine herbs to the courgettes after cooking stops them from browning and developing an acrid flavour. Whereas more woody herbs like rosemary can be cooked without it interfering with their flavour. This is finished off with a simple lemon sauce and is a perfect speedy weeknight meal. If you fell you have mastered the art of cooking fish at home then give this Salmon Papilotte or this Tuna with Noodles recipe a try.
Method
- Roughly chop all but one of the medium courgettes into equal sized wedges. Grate the remaining courgette and sprinkle with salt. Slice the baby courgettes into small rounds.
- Heat 3tbsp olive oil in a large frying pan and fry all of the courgette pieces until they wilt slightly and colour nicely.
- Tip the cooked courgette into a bowl and add the lemon zest and all but 1tbsp of the juice. Once they have cooled add the chopped basil, mint and marjoram and stir the mixture together.
- Season the sea bass with sea salt and cracked black pepper.
- Heat the frying pan and add the remaining olive oil, heat until hot and add the sea bass fillets skin side down. Turn the heat down a little and leave the fish to relax in the pan, don’t be tempted to press the fish down if there is any tightening of the flesh.
- Spoon the courgettes into two serving bowls and then add the sea bass on top.
- Add the butter into the fish pan and warm it until it starts to bubble, keep heating it until it just starts to brown. Toss in the chopped rosemary and a final splash of lemon juice and pour this fragrant sauce over the top of the fish.
Ingredients
- 2 fillets of Seabass
- 300g medium courgettes
- 200g baby courgettes
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 3 lemons, juiced and zested
- 3 cloves of garlic
- A few sprigs each basil, mint and marjoram
- 3tbsp butter
- A sprig of rosemary, leaves finely chopped
- Sea salt and black pepper
Top Tip for making Pan fried sea bass fillet with herbed courgettes
Be careful not to the courgettes as they change in taste and texture once over cooked.
Chef, Food Writer, and Podcast Host Elişa Roche trained under Jamie Oliver as part of Channel 4 show Jamie's Kitchen before working at some of London's best restaurants. She has cooked at No10 Downing Street and for celebrities including Oprah Winfrey, U2, and Sir Paul McCartney.
She now hosts a podcast about careers in the food industry and loves to mentor newcomers. Before that, Elişa worked as Group Food Director and TI Media and then Future, commissioning, art directing, and producing food and drinks content across more than 20 magazines and their associated websites and special issues.