Pan-fried Sea Bass with Lemon Mash

Pan-fried Sea Bass with Lemon Mash is a modern British recipe for a classic dish of pan-fried sea bass served on a bed of creamy mashed potatoes flavoured with lemon zest and lemon juice that makes an excellent main course for Valentine's day. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic British version of: Pan-fried Sea Bass with Lemon Mash.

prep time

20 minutes

cook time

25 minutes

Total Time:

45 minutes

Serves:

Rating:

Tags : Vegetable Recipes British Recipes

Ingredients:

For the Mash:
4 medium-sized floury potatoes, peeled and cut into even-sized chunks
1 generous knob of butter
3 tbsp double cream
freshly-grated zest of 1 lemon
juice of 1 lemon
salt and freshly-ground black pepper, to taste

For the sea bass:
2 fillets of sea bass (about 150g each)
1 tbsp olive oil

1 batch saffron mussel sauce to garnish

kale steamed with caraway seeds, to accompany (take 250g curly kale, strip away the mid-ribs, chop and steam with 1 tsp caraway seeds until tender)

Method:

Bring a pan of salted water to a boil, add the potatoes and cook for about 15 minutes, or until tender. Turn into a colander and allow to drain then return the potatoes to the pan and mash with the butter, cream, lemon zest and lemon juice until smooth and creamy. Set aside to keep warm.

Take the sea bass fillets and use a sharp knife to cut three deep diagonal scores in the skin side. Rub the fish all over with the olive oil then season to taste with salt and black pepper. Place a heavy frying pan over medium heat. When hot add the fish pieces, skin side down and cook for 3 minutes, or until the skin is crisp. Carefully turn over and continue cooking the fish for about 3 minutes more, or until just done through.

To serve, spoon the lemon mash into the centre of warmed serving plates. Top with the steamed kale then lay the fish fillet on top. Spoon over the saffron sauce and dot the mussels around the edge of the plate.

Serve immediately.