Postcard From Spain

Sea bass with roast tomatoes and citrus cous cous

A simple grilled sea bass is one of the finest tasting fish you can eat. Don’t be put off by the bones – cooked this way, the flesh will just fall away. Ask your fishmonger to clean and de-scale the fish and remove the heads if you prefer. The citrus cous cous goes perfectly with fish but it is so quick and easy to prepare that we use it often as a substiture for potatoes.

Ingredients

2 sea bass (dorada in Spain) each about 250g

20 cherry tomatoes on the vine

Juice and grated rind of a small lemon and half an orange

100ml fish or chicken stock

125g cous cous

Olive oil, salt and pepper

Method

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180C. Place the tomatoes in an ovenproof dish, drizzle with olive oil and season. Roast for 15-20 mins. until soft.

2. Pre-heat the grill to maximum. Make a series of diagonal slashes on each side of the fish and place on the grill tray. Drizzle with a little olive oil and season with sea salt. Grill for 3-4 mins. on each side until the skin is crisp, brown and blistered.

3. Meanwhile, add the stock to the citrus juices and make up to 150ml liquid. Pour the citrus stock into a medium pan with a tight-fitting lid and bring to the boil. Remove from the heat and stir in the cous cous, citrus rind and a good slug of olive oil. Set aside with the lid on for 2-3 mins.  and stir again.

4. Place the grilled fish on a serving plate alongside the tomatoes and spoon on the cous cous.

This recipe is from the New Mediterranean Meals collection by Mark Harrison, which contains more than 150 original recipes. You can buy it on a fully indexed and searchable CD for just 5 euros. Contact vimark@inicia.es to order your copy.