Sea Bream with a Thai basil pesto

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Ingredients

For the ‘pesto’

  • 1 small bunch of Thai basil, leaves picked
  • 2 shallots, roughly chopped
  • A 2 inch piece of ginger, roughly chopped
  • 1 green medium green chilli – seeds left in for heat
  • The juice of 2 limes
  • 1 tablespoon of groundnut oil
  • 1 tablespoon of fish sauce
  • 1 tablespoon of soy sauce
  • 1 teaspoon of brown sugar

Core ingredients

  • Two fillets of wild black bream, or you can also use other delicate fish such as sea bass
  • To serve, pak choi wilted in a little water & soy sauce

Method

Making the Bream and 'Pesto'

  1. First make the pesto – place all the ingredients in a food processor and blitz to a rough paste
  2. Now start to wilt the pak choi. Place in a saute pan with a couple of tablespoons of water and a tablespoon of soy sauce and cover with a lid. Wilt for around 4 – 5 mins over a medium heat.
  3. To cook the fish, heat some ground nut oil in a frying pan over quite a high heat. Pat the fish dry and season the skin side with a little salt & pepper. Place the fish in the pan skin side down, holding them firm against the pan with a fish slice to ensure all of the skin is in contact with the pan and will crisp up evenly. Cook the fish for 2 – 3 mins on each side, turning the heat down to medium when you turn it onto the flesh side.
  4. Serve immediately on your bed of pak choi, topped with pesto and served with some extra lime wedges.