Sea bass in oatmeal with courgette and anchovy purée
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.
14 Comments
apuginthekitchen
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,
The Healthy Epicurean
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! 🙂
lapetitepaniere
It looks perfect 🙂
The Healthy Epicurean
Thank you! 🙂
Thalia @ butter and brioche
yum this looks delicious! what an interesting flavour combination also for the puree… definitely something i need to try. thanks for sharing!
The Healthy Epicurean
Thank you! I hope you enjoy it if you try it. 🙂
dedy oktavianus pardede
Brilliant dish!!!
tasty, savoury and crusty seabass, superb!!!
The Healthy Epicurean
Thank you! 🙂
Sally
Learned today that fish is full of ‘long’ omega 3s which are best for you. Great way to eat them.
The Healthy Epicurean
Thank you and yes – the Omega 3 in fish is by far the most easily assimilated by the body.
Stacey Bender
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.
The Healthy Epicurean
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…
Mary Frances
Yum! I love the look of this fish. The puree sounds interesting too.
The Healthy Epicurean
Thank you very much! It was good… 🙂