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Down there in NZ you might still be able to catch your own fresh bounty from the oceans and put a nice piece of fish on the table for lunch or supper. Throughout the rest of the world, this is little more than a romantic hunting and gathering urge from our distant pasts.
Just as NZ is world renowned for its efficient dry land farming, up here in the Mediterranean, fish, like livestock, are intensively farmed and provide for the fishy protein needs of half a billion people living around the shores of the Med. Whether it be sea bass, sea bream or yellow-finned tuna, just like their Nordic cousins, the salmon, their life cycle will more than likely be from the hatchling laboratory to the fattening pens off the coast.
Wild or farmed, you can’t beat a fresh piece of fish for supper.
A pan-cooked fillet of sea bream accompanied by a rich and creamy potato puree and a selection of colourful pan-tossed garden-fresh vegetables makes for an all-round favorite and easy-to-prepare mid-week lunch with family or friends.
Potato puree
- 2 medium red-skin potatoes per serving
- Cream
- Milk
- Butter, at room temperature
- Salt
- Finely ground pepper
Method:
Fill an appropriate sized pot of water and put on the stove to boil. Peel the potatoes and boil until soft enough to puree, then tip out the water. In a second saucepan heat a small amount of cream till it’s hot (not boiling). Using the same pot the potatoes were cooked in, mash the potato and add the warmed cream and a knob of butter as you go. Once you have achieved the consistency you desire, add a little salt and ground pepper to your taste. Then take a fine-mesh sieve and using a spoon force the mashed potato through the sieve into a container. Taste for salt and pepper. Cover the potato puree with cling wrap to prevent the potato forming its own skin. I haven’t given ingredient quantities as they are dependent on the amounts you want to cook. Set aside until needed.
Pan-tossed vegetables (cut as many as you need)
- Green zucchini (cut using a Parisian scoop/baller)
- Green beans (cut to 2-inch [5 cm] long pieces)
- Cherry tomatoes
- Carrot (roll cut)
- Radish (cut in half lengthwise)
- Chicken or vegetable stock
- Salt and pepper
- Ice
Method:
Prepare a bowl with ice cubes and water before you start. Boil water in a pot and add a pinch of salt. Parboil each vegetable separately, as they all need different cooking times. Start with the carrots: boil for two minutes, remove with a slotted spoon into the ice water; carry on with the other vegetables – 30 seconds for the zucchini, into ice water; radish, 30 seconds; green beans, 30 seconds; and cherry tomatoes, 30 seconds then peel. As each vegetable is chilled, remove from ice water to a sieve then to a container, refrigerate and use when needed.
Fish
- Two small-to-medium fillets of fresh sea bream per serving
- Olive oil
- Freshly squeezed lemon juice
- Freshly chopped pinch of thyme per serving
- Coarse sea salt
- Coarsely ground black pepper
- Dash of dry white wine
Method:
Preheat oven to 200°C. Place the fillets on a cutting board, skin down. Sprinkle with salt and a little black pepper, squeeze lemon juice over, then a sprinkle of fresh thyme. Heat olive oil in a pan on medium heat. Once oil is hot place the fillet face down for a minute, then flip and cook it skin down for several minutes, add a good dash of wine and if you have an oven-safe handle on your pan place it in the preheated oven for eight minutes or until the fish is firm to touch. If you’re cooking for a full table, or can’t put the pan in the oven, then place the fish skin up on a baking-paper-covered oven tray and place in the oven for the same amount of time.
While the fish is in the oven cooking, put the mash in a small pot on a low heat and stir regularly. Add more cream if too dry. At the same time, heat the stock in a fry pan and, on a low heat, add the vegetables and toss until needed.
Remember: just like meat, fish should rest for a few minutes on the plate before serving to eat. While it’s resting, you can add the potato puree and the vegetables and serve.
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