Sea Bream with Red Endive and a Tarragon Yoghurt
Recently, I was fortunate enough to be given a tour of Billingsgate Fish Market. It was an incredible experience and well worth the very early morning start on a dark winters morning.
This eye catching dish was inspired by that visit and the wonderful seasonal ingredients like red endive which give such a welcome splash of colour to dishes at this time of year.
It is easy to create with a few simple ingredients and always creates a splash with guests.
Method
Serves 4
Prep time: 30 mins Cooking time: 30 mins
Fillet the Sea Bream or ask your fishmonger to do this for you.
Peel the new potatoes and chop them into 1.5cm cubes. Put them in boiling water to cook for 5 - 10 mins. A cutlery knife should do through them when they are ready but you want them to still be firm enough that they don’t fall apart.
Peel the celery to remove the stringy parts and cut into thin slices on an angle. Bring a pan of water to the boil and blanch the celery for 1 minute. Refresh it in very cold water and set aside. This gets rid of a very strong celery taste and sets the green colour.
Carefully, peel away the endive leaves from the root, keeping them whole. Wash in cold water and dry.
Mix the walnut oil with the white wine vinegar to make a light dressing and season to taste with salt.
Mix the Greek Yoghurt with the tarragon and season with salt and black pepper to taste.
When the potatoes are ready, remove them from the steamer and let them air dry for a few minutes before tossing in the walnut oil dressing.
To assemble the dish. Spoon the yoghurt and tarragon onto a plate. Arrange a few of the endive leaves and potato cubes on top. Finish with a few of the celery slices.
Finally, pan fry your Sea Bream Fillets. Season the fish with a little salt on both sides. Heat a frying pan to low medium heat and fry the fillets skin side down for 2 - 3 mins. If the pan is too hot when you begin, the fillets will curl up.
Push the fillets down with a fish slice to ensure the skin crisps evenly. Turn and cook for a further 30 seconds - 1 minute until they are just cooked through and remove to a warm plate. You will need to do these in a couple of batches, so keep the fillets warm with greaseproof paper.
When you are ready to serve, top off your plates with a couple of fillets per person. Eat straight away.
Ingredients
4 Sea Bream
10 new potatoes
1 large stick of celery
2 red endive
2 tbsp walnut oil
10ml white wine vinegar
2 tbsp fresh tarragon
100ml Greek Yoghurt
2 tbsp vegetable oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
