Layer up: pan fried sea bream with roast fennel & potatoes & a green olive, preserved lemon & almond relish
And why the layered approach always works
When it comes to creating new recipes, I’ll often think about food in layers, and this dish perfectly exemplifies both the beauty and the logic of a well-composed platter. Without a doubt, one of my favourite things to eat is crispy, salty fish skin—especially when the sun is shining and the promise of a sparkling European summer lingers in the air. Last week's weather gave me all those feels, so fish it was!
Once I’ve decided on the main feature (in this case; fish), I think about the starch. I’ll often go for stewy beans with a nice piece of crispy-skinned fish, but more often than not, it’s thinly sliced baby potatoes—roasted with fennel and lemon rounds in plenty of olive oil and salt until golden and crunchy.
I love doing potatoes like this. They’re so delicious—crispy around the edges and soft, salty, oily, almost jammy in the middle. The kind of potato that tastes just as good cold, without that chalky dryness cold roasties often have. The kind of potato that’s perfect for hosting, because they don’t need to be served hot. Guests can keep loading their plates with them until the cows come home, which makes this a perfect dish for a long, lazy lunch with friends.
But I wouldn’t want to box it in—it’s just as good for an exciting midweek dinner for two as it is for a sunny Sunday lunch with a crowd.
And the fennel. Well, a lot of you probably already know how much I love fennel, so I won’t go on about it too much. But if you’ve ever told yourself you don’t like fennel, I’m simply not sure you’ve tried it roasted—with plenty of olive oil and salt—until it’s golden, caramelised, and crispy around the edges. Over the last five years of teaching cooking classes, I’ve proved this point time and time again to many self-proclaimed fennel haters. Roasted fennel is sweet, savoury, salty, glorious—and, in my opinion, impossible not to like. And that’s a hill I’m willing to die on.
Okay, moving on to the relish. A delicious, briny, colourful topping that ties everything together—and takes the dish from humble and tasty to something really exciting and impressive. If you watch my reels on IG, you’ll know I often talk about ‘throwing a relish on it.’ A relish, a salsa, a topping—call it whatever you like. It’s the third layer that totally elevates the dish, and it’s such an easy concept for transforming even the simplest of meals. In this case: fish and potatoes.
There are probably hundreds of amazing relish combinations we could dream up, (and I’m so excited to keep sharing more with you) but the non-negotiable, base ingredients for a good relish are always the same: extra virgin olive oil, salt, lemon, and finely chopped herbs of your choice. From there, you can take it in so many directions—with nuts, olives, onions, dried fruit, spices, chilli… the list goes on.
In this case, I used casually torn Nocellara olives, preserved lemon, mint, toasted flaked almonds, olive oil, lemon, and salt. Honestly, it was so delicious and beautifully balanced: salty, acidic, oily, fresh, fragrant, crunchy, buttery, and just a little sweet.
So there you have it—three layers: starch, protein, and an exciting relish.
Now let’s cook!
Pan fried sea bream with roast fennel & potatoes & a green olive, preserved lemon & almond relish
INGREDIENTS, serves 4
4 x fillets skin on sea bream or sea bass (or white fish of choice)
16 (plus minus) baby potatoes, sliced into thinnish rounds
2 large or 4 small fennel, halved from top to bottom then sliced into thin wedges, keeping the root in tact
A big handful of Nocellara or mild green olives, pitted and torn in half
1 small bunch mint, finely chopped
Half a preserved lemon, finely chopped
A handful flaked almonds, toasted in the oven or in a frying pan until golden
1 lemon sliced into rounds
1 to 2 more lemons
Extra virgin olive oil
Salt
METHOD:
Preheat oven to 180C fan and take the fish out of the fridge
On a lined baking tray, coat the potatoes, fennel and lemon rounds very well in olive oil and salt. Use your hands to make sure all is well coated and spread evenly across the tray. You have the option to use two trays if one feels overcrowded.
Roast in the oven for at least 40 minutes or until it all looks wonderfully golden crispy and caramelised.
Prepare the relish by mixing the green olives, mint and preserved lemon in a bowl with a generous drizzle olive oil, salt to taste and the juice of half to a whole lemon. Only add the toasted flaked almonds to the relish before serving to avoid them going soggy.
Always taste the relish. It should be salty, briny, oily, acidic and a little sweet from the preserved lemons. Make any changes you see fit. I promise you cant mess it up.
Once the potatoes and fennel are nearly ready, you can fry the fish. It’s so easy to get crispy skin on your fish. Pat the skin very dry with paper towel and massage olive oil and salt into the skin. Heat a generous amount of olive oil in a frying pan on medium to high heat. Wait for the pan to reach it’s heat before placing the fish in, skin side down. Do not move it around. Simply let it cook skin side down for 90% of the cooking time. No touching. For a thin piece of white fish, it will only take about 4 to 5 mins. Flip the fish. Turn the heat off and let it sit for about 20 seconds to cook through.
To plate it all up, spread the potatoes and fennel onto a large platter (I often salt these again after roasting but it’s optional), top with the fish —skin side up— and then scatter the relish all over.
Enjoy!
NB: If I was doing this for more than 4 people, I’d likely just pop all of the fish onto a baking tray and under the grill in the oven to save time. Prep it the same way, but cook in the oven for about 10 to 12 mins.
Nat xx
