Baked Sea Bream with Olives and French Beans

I love sea bream, it is a gloriously delicious fish, like Sea Bass but with thicker fillets and more flavour.  Yummy.

When I first started working, I used to go to my local fish stall in the market and chose a delicious sea bream.  If I'm honest, most of the time, I cooked it simply and served with lemon juice with coarse sea salt but trust me on this sauce; it is stunning.


Baked Sea Bream with Olives and French Beans - Serves 1 as a main course, 2 as a starter

Ingredients

A whole sea bass, prepared (i.e. gutted)
A large handful of French beans
A large handful of cherry tomatoes
A couple of tbsp kalamata olives
1 tsp Extra virgin olive oil
2 anchovies (from a tin)
1 clove garlic, finely grated or crushed
1 tbsp white wine
Parsley, to serve

Method

Wrap the fish in foil and bake in a preheated oven at 200oC, 400F, Gas Mark 6 for approx 20-25 minutes or until cooked through.

While the fish is cooking, gently heat the chopped anchovy in the oil, add in the garlic and cook gently until releasing the fragrance but not browning.  Add in the wine and bubble to burn off the alcohol (add a little water if it's getting too dry).  Put to one side until ready to serve.

When the fish is nearly cooked, cook the beans in boiling water for approx 5 minutes.  When cooked toss with the raw halved tomatoes and olives (stoned if preferred).

Plate up the vegetables and top with the fish, deboned if preferred.  Drizzle with the sauce and the chopped parsley before serving.