Fishmongers in France are always keen to advise on inventive ways to prepare their produce. My favourite one writes his recipes down for me, correctly assuming that I’m only half listening and will never remember unless he does. This morning he was absent and when I asked his replacement for suggestions on how to cook sea bass, she curtly replied that I could ‘fry it, braise it, BBQ it, steam it, grill it or bake it.’ Her jaded gallic shrug after this exhaustive list seemed to imply that her final unspoken suggestion might be that I should ‘stick it’. Who knew sea bass was so versatile?
However prepared, sea bass is delicious and an abundant source of omega 3 fatty acids, iron, vitamins and minerals.
Ingredients (serves 4)
750g sea bass
1 egg, beaten
150g rolled oats (oat flakes)
20g butter
2 courgettes, peeled and sliced
1 medium-sized potato
10g parmesan cheese, grated
4 anchovies
sea salt, ground black pepper, Espelette pepper
8 black olives, chopped
olive oil
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 sprig of thyme
4 slices of lemon
Coat the fish with the beaten egg and then cover with rolled oats and set aside. Boil the potato and courgettes, drain well and purée. Add the grated cheese, anchovies, seasoning, black olives, olive oil and garlic and mix well over a very gentle heat for a few minutes or until the cheese is melted.
Melt the butter in a large frying pan with a sprig of thyme. Shallow fry the fish for about five minutes on each side and serve with the warm purée and a slice of lemon.
The Healthy Epicurean 
I have never heard of sea bream, must google it. Looks delicious and love the oatmeal breading. I love fish pan fried with a light breading,
Lost in translation! As my father kindly pointed out, I incorrectly translated ‘bar’ in French as Sea Bream, when in fact it should be Sea Bass! Thank you! 🙂
It looks perfect 🙂
Thank you! 🙂
yum this looks delicious! what an interesting flavour combination also for the puree… definitely something i need to try. thanks for sharing!
Thank you! I hope you enjoy it if you try it. 🙂
Brilliant dish!!!
tasty, savoury and crusty seabass, superb!!!
Thank you! 🙂
Learned today that fish is full of ‘long’ omega 3s which are best for you. Great way to eat them.
Thank you and yes – the Omega 3 in fish is by far the most easily assimilated by the body.
What a wonderful purée. Your food is always so interesting (in a good way). Perhaps the fishmonger (if she is there on repeat) will come to realize what a fun customer you are and begin to lighten up? Speaking of light, the fish looks so light and delicious that now I am craving the same.
Thank you! 🙂 I’m kind of hoping she was a one-off actually 😉 The fish was really light and delicate – well worth trying if you ever come across it…
Yum! I love the look of this fish. The puree sounds interesting too.
Thank you very much! It was good… 🙂