5Sea bass filletsdepending on the size of the fillets
1.2kgsmall new potatoesscrubbed clean
3fennel bulbsthinly sliced
3slim leekssliced thickly at an angle
2 ½lemons or 90 ml lemon juice
3garlic cloveschopped
80mlolive oil
1tsporegano
70gpitted kalamata ol
10gbutter
1tbspchopped parsley
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 190Cfan. Begin by thickly slicing the new potatoes. Place them in a single layer in a roasting tin. Add the lemon juice, chopped garlic and olive oil. Add 250ml water. Season with salt and pepper and add the oregano. Bake in the oven for 35 minutes. Remove the potatoes from the oven and add the fennel, leeks and olives. Give it a good stir to coat all the vegetables. Place the baking tray back in the oven and bake for a further 35 minutes, increase the oven temperature to 200C in the last 10 minutes. The potatoes should be golden and the liquid evaporated.
Have a large frying pan heating on the stove to high with a little olive oil. Cut the fillets in half if they’re large. Season with salt and pepper on the skin side and place skin side down in the pan. Don’t crowd the pan, cook in batches if necessary. Add a small nob of butter to the pan and lower the heat to medium high, continue to cook until you can see the thinner part of flesh looks cooked. In other words cook the fish 80 percent of the time on the skin side.
Flip the fillets over and turn the heat off. The residual heat will cook them through perfectly. Remove the vegetables from the oven and place on a large plate. Place the fish fillets on top and serve immediately.