Sweet and sour fish with Sicilian orange salad
Matt Tebbutt tops sea bass with a sweet raisin, crunchy pine nut and intense moscatel vinegar dressing. Serve with a fresh citrus salad.
Ingredients
- 60ml/4 tbsp olive oil
- 2 onions, thinly sliced
- 3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 1 tsp caster sugar
- 125ml/4fl oz moscatel vinegar
- 50²µ/1¾´Ç³ú raisins, soaked in warm water
- 2 x 200g/7oz sea bass fillets, pin-boned and skin scored
- 50²µ/1¾´Ç³ú pine nuts, toasted
- handful fresh flatleaf parsley, leaves only
For the salad
- 3 oranges, peeled and segmented, 1 peel retained to blanch
- 1 fennel bulb, thinly sliced
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- handful fresh flatleaf parsley, leaves only
- small bunch fresh mint, leaves only
- pinch dried oregano (preferably Sicilian)
- 1 tbsp pink peppercorns
- 3 tbsp baby capers
- 8 large caper berries on stalks
- 4 whole anchovies packed in salt, roughly chopped
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a frying pan over a medium heat and cook the onions and garlic gently for 10 minutes. Do not colour. Add the sugar, vinegar, raisins and 50ml/2fl oz water.
Heat the remaining olive oil in a clean frying pan over a medium-high heat and fry the fish skin-side down for 2–3 minutes.
Add the parsley and pine nuts to the onions and garlic, then add the fish skin-side up and cook over a medium heat for a further 2 minutes or until cooked through.
Meanwhile, to make the salad, start by blanching the zest of 1 orange in boiling water for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and once cool, julienne.
Transfer the peel to a large bowl with the remaining salad ingredients, then toss well. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
Serve the sea bass fillets with the sauce and salad on the side.
