I absolutely love this recipe - it's so easy to make and takes hardly any time at all. I was particularly proud of this attempt as it was the first time I filleted fish! I had my heart set on making this recipe and was banking on the supermarket to have some nice sea bream fillets, but they only had whole ones... I figured I like a challenge, so why not? I've seen it done a million times on Masterchef... That's basically the same as doing it right?! Anyway for a first attempt I was pretty pleased with myself; it wasn't perfect, but it wasn't a train wreck and I got all the bones out.
The trickiest element to this dish was actually coming up with a veggie alternative that I was happy with. I find fish quite a tricky thing to replace, but the sauce is so good that I didn't want to miss out. I opted for tofu in the end and to be honest it was a reluctant choice. BUT I'm actually really happy with how it turned out. I've never been a massive of tofu because it's so often bland and the texture can be a bit dodgy, but I've found that baking it is a game changer! You can adjust the timings to your liking, but I went for as crispy as possible (without burning it). With a decent marinade, it was also lovely and flavoursome - and went really well with the sauce.
The tofu can be made ahead of time, so you can focus on whipping up the sauce and frying the fish, as this is all comes together so quickly.
Serves 2
Ingredients
For the tofu (if using):
400g block tofu
2 tbsp lemon vinaigrette
1 tsp mixed Italian herbs
4 fillets sea bream
1 tbsp olive oil
1 pack piccolo or sugar drop tomatoes (220g), quartered
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 bunch basil (30g), chopped
splash of dry white wine
salt and pepper
Method
1. Press the tofu for 20-30 minutes. Pre-heat the oven to 180C.
2. Combine the ingredients for the vinaigrette and add the herbs, slice the tofu into pieces and marinate for at least 30 mins in the vinaigrette.
3. Bake the tofu for 30-40 mins, turning halfway through. I like my tofu crispier, so I baked for 40 mins. For softer, stick to 30 mins.
4. Once the tofu is almost done, start the sauce - heat the olive oil in a large frying pan and add the quartered tomatoes. Cook for 3-5 mins, until they start to break down. Add the garlic and cook for another minute. Add a splash of wine and the basil, then season to taste. Simmer on a low heat while you cook the fish.
5. In a separate frying pan, add a drizzle of olive oil and cook the fish skin side down for 3 mins and then cook the other side for a further 2 mins. Add the sauce and simmer a final couple of mins. If using tofu, add to the sauce and serve.
6. Serve with bulgur wheat and / or crusty bread to mop up the sauce!
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