Whole sea bass with purple sprouting broccoli, chilli and garlic

  • Portion size: Serves 6 as part of a menu
  • Hands-on time 25 min, oven time 20 min
  • Difficulty: easy

Whole sea bass makes an impressive dinner party main – this simple recipe uses only a few ingredients, allowing the fresh fish to shine.

If you’re a fan of purple sprouting broccoli, then take a look at this simple way to use the spears to dip into an egg.

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Ingredients

  • 1 sustainable whole wild sea bass (around 1.5kg), gutted, scaled and gills removed (ask the fishmonger to do this)
  • Olive oil for rubbing, frying and drizzling
  • 250g purple sprouting broccoli, thick stems halved lengthways
  • 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
  • ½ small red chilli, seeds removed, thinly sliced
  • Juice ½ lemon, plus extra wedges
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Method

  1. Heat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/gas 4. Score the sea bass skin and flesh several times on each side using a sharp knife, season with sea salt and rub with olive oil. Heat the grill to high, put the fish on an oiled, lipped baking sheet and grill for 5 minutes on each side until the skin is crisp and tinged with gold. Put in the oven and cook for 15-20 minutes (see tip). To test if it’s done, push a skewer into the thickest part of the fish, normally behind the head, then check the skewer is hot. Put the fish on a serving platter with a few lemon wedges.
  2. Meanwhile, cook the broccoli in boiling salted water for 2 minutes then drain and pat dry. While the broccoli is cooking, heat a little olive oil in a medium frying pan and fry the garlic and chilli over a low heat for 2-3 minutes. Increase the heat and add the broccoli. Drizzle with a little more olive oil, add the lemon juice, season with salt and pepper, then toss well to combine for about 1 minute. Serve alongside the fish.

Recipe by Sam Willis at Café Murano in Covent Garden

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  • Nutrition

    • 321kcals Calories
    • 20.5g (4.1g saturated) Fat
    • 31.9g Protein
    • 1.5g (0.9g sugars) Carbs
    • 1.7g Fibre
    • 0.3g Salt

    Quick wins & tips

    If you don’t have a large griddle pan, cook the fish under a hot grill for 5 minutes on each side, then finish off in the oven as in the recipe.

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    Reviews

    huggodfrey@sky.com

    We all are fish lovers. I followed the recipe to the letter and the fish was cooked to perfection. I loved the sauce that accompanied the broccoli with its lemony flavour. Perfection. Thank you.

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