sea bass recipes

Dean Edwards’ sea bass recipes make a light and healthy treat – the perfect contrast to all the rich food of the festive season

Baked sea bass with fennel and olives

Serves: 4
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes

• Olive oil
• 2 small heads chicory, halved
• 1 onion, sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 2 sprigs rosemary
• 150ml white wine
• 400g tin chopped tomatoes
• Salt and ground black pepper
• 1 bulb fennel
• 1 lemon, quartered
• 200g cherry tomatoes on the vine
• 2 bay leaves
• 80g green olives, pitted
• 1tbsp honey
• 4 sea bass fillets
• Spinach, to serve

Preheat your oven to 200ºC/400ºF/gas mark 6. Add a dash of olive oil to a large pan and cook the chicory halves on both sides for 7-8 minutes until they are lightly coloured. Set aside.
Add the onion, garlic and rosemary to the pan and sweat gently for around 5 minutes. Pour in the white wine and reduce by half. Stir in the tinned tomatoes and bring up to a simmer, then season with salt and pepper. Pour this sauce into a heavy-based baking tray.
Trim the tops from the fennel (you can keep them for garnish) then cut into quarters lengthways. Add the fennel to the baking tray along with the chicory, lemon, tomatoes on the vine and bay leaves, then scatter over the olives. Finally, drizzle over the honey. Cook in the oven for 10 minutes.
Score the skin of the sea bass fillets with a sharp knife then season with salt and pepper, place on top of the sauce and cook for a further 8-10 minutes or until cooked through. Serve with some wilted, buttered spinach.