Have you tried Sea Bream?

The ancient Greeks and Romans liked sea bream cooked with seasoned sauces and accompanied by fruit. They are most often found in coastal areas but have been caught at depths of up to 150m. Spawning occurs between November and December. Solitary fish, eat worms and crustaceans as well as smaller fish and have impressive teeth when you see them up close.

 

Interestingly, these fish start life as males and change sex at about three years of age.

With dense, moist white flesh, sea bream are usually sold whole or in fillets. With a satisfying meaty texture, a clean taste, and a delicate flavor they’re a good choice for dinner. Whole or filleted, sea bream can be baked, pan-fried, grilled, steamed, or roasted.

A good rule of thumb is not to overcook sea bream. In fact, it’s always better to undercook sea bream than let it spend too long in the pan or the oven.

Cook sea bream fillets with herbs and spices to enhance the fish. Cooking sea bream fillets only takes a few minutes on each side and they’re ready to eat for a quick dinner.

Here is how I like to cook these fillets.

Ingredients

Olive oil
2 sea bream fillets, about 6 oz each

Side Dish
20 cherry tomatoes
1 medium zucchini, diced
1 teaspoon ground coriander
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
A small bunch of basil, chopped
1 lemon
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Potato Cakes
2 cups mashed potatoes
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 onion, diced
1 egg
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
½ teaspoon salt

Directions

For the side dish
Place a small saucepan over gentle heat and add 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Cut the tomatoes in half and add to the oil. Add the zucchini and season with salt and pepper and stir over low heat for 1–2 minutes.
Add the coriander, garlic powder, basil, and lemon juice of one-half to the pan stir, and set aside to allow the flavors to infuse.

For the potato cakes

Mix mashed potatoes, flour, onion, egg, black pepper, and salt together in a bowl until batter consistency.

Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a skillet over medium heat. Drop 4-inch circles of batter into the hot oil. Cook until golden brown, about 5 minutes per side. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Repeat with the remaining batter.

To cook the bream
Heat a heavy-based frying pan over high heat. Slash the skin of the fillets in 3 places. Add a dash of oil to the pan and, when really hot, add the bream fillets skin side down. Season and cook for 2 minutes. (The flesh should be opaque two-thirds of the way up the fillet.)

Turn the fillets and cook on the other side for 1 minute until just cooked through.

To serve
Pace a potato cake on a dinner plate. Top with a fillet and spoon some of the zucchini mixtures around the fish.

 


Posted by in Fish, Healthy Italian Cooking, potatoes, sea bream, tomatoes, zucchini