When you don’t feel like doing the dishes after dinner the easiest option is to just bake everything on a tray. This sea bass tray bake blends the mild flavour of sea bass with the acidity of the capers and lemon and the sweet floral taste of saffron. Add all the ingredients together and bake for 35 min and voila, you have yourself the perfect hands-off dinner.
INGREDIENTS (4 servings)
- 4 farmed sea bass fillets (about 150g each), skin-on
- 3 red peppers, cut into chunks
- 1 red onion, sliced
- 185g of marinated olives
- 400g of cherry tomatoes on the vine
- 1 tbsp of capers, drained
- 2 garlic cloves, sliced
- 2 tbsps of toasted pine nuts
- Grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
- 2 large pinches of saffron strands
- Olive oil
- White wine or vermouth
- Handful fresh basil leaves
- 4 tbsps of mayonnaise
- Cooked couscous or flatbreads to serve
PREPARATION
- Heat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/gas 6. Toss the red peppers and onion in a roasting tin with a glug of oil and some salt and pepper, then bake for 30 minutes, tossing halfway through.
- Add the tomatoes, olives (and any marinade), capers and vermouth or white wine to the tray and bake for 10 minutes more. Put the saffron in a small bowl, cover with a splash of warm water, then set aside to steep.
- Arrange the sea bass, skin-side up, in the tray and top with the garlic. Mix half the saffron and its water into the 2 tsp olive oil and sprinkle over the fish along with salt and black pepper. Bake for 5-6 minutes until almost cooked through, then turn the grill to high and grill the fish for 2-3 minutes to crisp up the skin.
- Scatter the fish with the pine nuts, lemon zest, basil and some black pepper. Mix the mayonnaise with the rest of the saffron, the juice of ½ lemon and some more black pepper. Serve the fish with couscous or flatbreads and a squeeze of lemon juice.
