Sea bass, I find is a great hybrid of salmon and cod. It is a white fish, so you can do a lot with the flavours and play with it, but it also has the skin on the fish that you can crisp up and make crunchy. Sea bass is also a cheaper alternative to cod, but a much thinner fillet.
This is a really simple dinner for two that does not require a lot of prep, and if you have help making the salad, can be done in 15 minutes. The most time consuming element is toasting the almonds, but I suggest not skipping this step as the slightly warm almonds that have just been toasted taste amazing.
The dinner is an all round healthy meal, which is nice after a long day of work. The taste of the fish is simplistic, but the salad has a spicy fruity tang that compliments it all.
Servings: 2
Calories per serving: 477
Pesto sea bass and almonds with a tropical salad
Ingredients
- 2 sea bass fillets (or any other white fish fillets)
- 1 ½ tsp butter
- 1 ½ tsp pesto
- About 4 tbsps sliced unroasted almonds
- 1 ripe avocado
- 4 cherry tomatoes
- Baby leaf salad mix, or any other small leaf salad mix
- ----
- Mango vinegar
- Sesame oil
- Cayenne pepper
- Black pepper
- Salt
Directions
- Step 1 In a dry frying pan, place the sliced almonds so that none overlap. Turn on the heat to medium and toast them until they are golden brown. Remove from the heat.
- Step 2 Put your butter and pesto into the frying pan and allow to melt. Keep the heat on medium, but if the butter looks like it will start to burn add some rapeseed / canola oil into the pan. Wait until the butter and pesto have melted. Add the sea bass to the pan, skin side down. Season with salt and pepper and allow to fry. Use the sauce in the pan to baste the top of the fish.
- Step 3 After about 4 minutes, put the lid onto the frying pan and allow the top to steam for about 4 – 5 minutes. You want the fish to be nice and flaky when you are complete. Remember to keep basting the fish with the butter and pesto.
- Step 4 Prepare and cut your avocado into slices and put to one side. Slice your cherry tomatoes in half and place to one side.
- Step 5 Add your salad mix to a salad bowl and add salt and pepper. Drizzle on the mango vinegar and sesame oil, then add a light sprinkling of the cayenne pepper. Toss the salad until it is evenly mixed.
- Step 6 Plate your greens on one half of the plate, place the avocado on top, then one quarter of the almonds over the avocado. Dress your tomatoes to the outside. Place your sea bass (or other white fish) on the other side of the plate, and used another quarter of your almonds to garnish.
Enjoy.