Pan Fried Sea Bream with Moroccan Spiced Vegetables, Crushed Potatoes and Harissa

I didn't have any plans to cook this dish last night but when I was at my local Chinese supermarket and saw a nice-looking whole Sea Bream in the fridge for £3.80 (what a bargain!!) I couldn't resist the temptation to buy it. I don't buy Sea Bream very often because they can be quite pricey, but along with Sea Bass they are one of my favourite fishes because of their firm texture and delicate flavour. You don't normally need to do a lot with them, simply grilled or barbecued until the skins crackle and served with potato salad and herby tomato salsa would be enough. But as I had the time to do something more, I decided to fillet, pan fry and serve it with Moroccan spiced vegetables, crushed potatoes and harissa (Moroccan style spicy sauce). I got the harissa recipe from one of Gordon Ramsay's cookbooks. I'd made it before with Mackerel and it worked really well so I thought it would go well with the Sea Bream, and to stick with the Moroccan theme I served it with some roasted vegetables marinated in Moroccan spices. 

Pan Fried Sea Bream with Moroccan Spiced Vegetables, Crushed Potatoes and Harissa

Serves 2

Ingredients:

1 whole sea bream, filleted and bones removed (ask the fishmonger to do it for you)

1 tsp ras-el-hanout (a mixture of Moroccan spices, available at Tesco or Sainsbury's)

salt and pepper

Sprinkle each side of the fillet with the spices and salt and pepper and set aside to marinate for 15 minutes or more.

For the harissa:

1 whole roasted red pepper, deseeded and skinned

1/2 fresh red chilli, deseeded

1 small garlic clove

1 tsp tomato puree

few threads of saffron

1 tsp balsamic vinegar

1/2 tsp caster sugar

a pinch of ground cumin
a pinch of ground coriander

1/2 tsp sweet paprika 

1 tsp lemon juice

1 tbs virgin olive oil

Put all the ingredients in a blender or food processor, blitz into a puree and set aside.

For the spiced roasted vegetables:

4 mushrooms, sliced
1 red or yellow pepper, sliced
1/2 aubergine, sliced
1 tsp ras-el-hanout
1/2 tsp ground coriander
a pinch of ground cumin
1 tsp sweet paprika
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tbs olive oil
salt and pepper


Mix all the ingredients above in a baking tray and season with salt and pepper. Bake in a preheated oven at 160 C for 20 - 30 minutes. While the vegetables are in the oven you can start preparing the crushed potatoes:


300g maris piper potatoes
a knob of butter
1 garlic clove, chopped
10 pitted black or green olives, chopped
1 tbs olive oil


Cut the potatoes into wedges and boil until tender. Melt the butter in a frying pan, fry the garlic until fragrant then throw the boiled potatoes, chopped olives and the oil into the pan. Stir thoroughly for a few minutes on a low heat and season with salt and pepper. Set aside and keep warm. 


Meanwhile heat a non-stick frying pan on a high heat and add 1 tbs of vegetable oil. When the oil is hot fry the fillet on the skin-side first for about 5 minutes then turn the heat down a bit and fry the other side of the fillet for another 5 minutes.


To serve arrange the crushed potatoes and roasted vegetables in the centre of a warm plate and put the fillet skin side up on top of them. Smear the harissa on each side of the plate, garnish the fillet with a slice of lemon and sprinkle with some toasted sunflower and sesame seeds.