Sea bass with artichokes

Serves - 4

You’ll need

• 4 sea bass fillets, skin on
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 25g butter
• 1 shallot, very finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 x 280g jar artichoke hearts, drained and halved or quartered
• 100ml dry white wine
• Juice of ½ lemon
• Zest of ½ lemon
• Small handful flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
• Small handful dill, roughly chopped
• Sea salt
• Black pepper

Method

1. Get the artichokes started

Heat 1 tbsp of the olive oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat. Add the shallot with a small pinch of salt and cook for 3–4 minutes until softened. Add the garlic and cook for another minute, just until fragrant and heading in the right direction.

2. Build the artichoke base

Add the artichoke hearts to the pan and cook for 2–3 minutes so they warm through and catch a little at the edges. Pour in the white wine and let it bubble away for a couple of minutes until slightly reduced. Stir in the lemon juice and half the zest, then take the pan off the heat and keep warm. You want it soft, glossy and properly savoury, not swimming in liquid.

3. Prep the fish

Pat the sea bass fillets dry with kitchen paper and season with sea salt and black pepper. Dry skin and a hot pan is what gets you that properly crisp finish, rather than skin that sits there looking limp and faintly disappointed.

4. Cook the sea bass

Heat the remaining olive oil and the butter in a separate frying pan over a medium-high heat. Once the butter is foaming, add the sea bass fillets skin-side down. Press them lightly with a fish slice for the first 20–30 seconds so the skin stays flat in the pan. Cook for 3–4 minutes until the skin is crisp and golden, then turn and cook for another 1–2 minutes until the fish is just cooked through.

5. Finish properly

Stir most of the parsley and dill through the artichokes, then taste and adjust with a little more lemon juice, salt or black pepper if needed. The whole thing should feel bright and buttery rather than heavy.

6. Serve

Spoon the artichokes onto plates and sit the sea bass on top or alongside. Scatter over the remaining herbs and the last of the lemon zest, then spoon over any buttery juices from the pan. Serve straight away while the fish skin still has some crunch and everything feels fresh and lively.

A couple of helpful notes

- Jarred artichokes work very well here and make the whole thing far easier, but if you have cooked fresh ones to hand, they will do beautifully.
- Sea bass cooks quickly, so it is worth having the artichokes ready before the fish goes into the pan.
- A few crushed new potatoes or some warm crusty bread alongside would be very welcome for catching the juices.