Golden Fillet of Sea Bream

It’s been too long since we’ve had a good piece of fish. (Not counting the ever-too-frequent occasional indulgence in battered morsels of frozen fish, that is.) We think fish should be crispy and golden, although this doesn’t means that it’d be overdone. Like other members of the seafood family, fish cooks terribly quickly, but cooking it the right way ensures an exquisite exterior encasing a melt-in-your-mouth freshness.

Fortunately, with our haul at Billingsgate Market this morning (yes, we woke up at 4am again), for lunch, we managed to put together a crispy fillet of sea bream on mushroom risotto, with pickled brocolli ribbons.

Not going into detail about the risotto and pickled ribbons since the fish is the star of the show, cooking fish with the skin on is precious; here’s how:

1. Fillet the fish; today we used sea bream because it was good value at the market, but definitely go with whichever’s your personal favourite. Be sure to remove the pin bones! Cut the fillets up into portion size pieces.
2. Pat dry and salt the skin side liberally. Set aside for about 10 minutes or so. This will give the salt time to draw out excess moisture and at the same time, season the fish slightly. After 10 minutes, pat dry again. Get it as dry as you can.
3. In a skillet with a small drizzle of oil on medium high heat, get the pan hot.
4. When the oil in the pan is hot, sear the fish pieces skin side down, pressing down firmly for a few seconds to prevent the fish from curling upwards.
5. Leave the fish to cook till it’s done three quarters of the way, before flipping it over to the other side to finish cooking for a brief 15 seconds or less.
6. When done, remove immediately to a cooling rack to rest for a couple of moments, before serving.

W prefers fish to poultry and red meat any day, so today’s meal was a real treat!

And here’s a handy recipe card for easy reference!

x, W & K