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Baked Sea Bass with Roasted Cherry Tomatoes, Red Onion and Basil

Sea bass fillets baked on a bed of roasting cherry tomatoes and red onion with garlic and basil, served with brown rice. A gluten-free dinner with 30g of protein, ready in 35 minutes.

Dinner

35

Serves 2

A glass baking dish of golden baked white fish fillets topped with soft roasted cherry tomato halves, red onion rings and wilted basil

Ingredients

  • 1 red onion (about 100g/3½oz), cut into thin rings
  • 300g/10½oz cherry tomatoes, halved
  • 2 cloves garlic (about 8g), sliced
  • 1 tbsp plus 1 tsp (20ml) olive oil
  • 2 skin-on sea bass fillets (about 120g/4oz each), or another firm white fish such as cod or hake
  • 1 tbsp (15ml) lemon juice
  • A small bunch of basil (about 10g), leaves torn
  • 1 x 250g (9oz) pouch ready-cooked brown rice
  • A pinch of salt and black pepper

Method

  1. Heat the oven to 200C (180C fan, 400F). Put the onion, tomatoes and garlic in a baking dish about 20x30cm (8x12in), toss with 1 tablespoon of the oil and a pinch of salt and pepper and roast for 10 minutes, until starting to soften.
  2. Pat the fish dry, season with a little salt and pepper and lay it skin side down in the dish among the vegetables. Brush the flesh with the remaining teaspoon of oil, spoon some of the tomatoes over the top, scatter over half the basil and bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until the flesh is white and opaque all the way through and flakes easily, or reads 63C (145F) in the thickest part.
  3. While the fish bakes, heat the rice as the pouch says.
  4. Squeeze the lemon juice over the dish, scatter with the rest of the basil and serve the fish and tomatoes with the rice and the juices from the dish.
  5. Best eaten straight away. Leftover fish keeps in the fridge for up to 1 day. The pouch rice has already been heated once, so do not reheat leftover rice.

Why it works

A plate gives you about 30g of protein for 514 calories, most of it from the sea bass.

One dish, little effort. Roasting the tomatoes and onion first gives them a head start, so they turn soft and jammy and make a light sauce for the fish while it bakes on top.

Why sea bass. Sea bass is a mild white fish that cooks quickly and stays moist. It contains some omega-3 fats, though less than oily fish such as salmon or mackerel.

Why it is tagged for blood sugar. The brown rice brings most of the 45g of carbohydrate, with fibre from the rice and tomatoes and plenty of protein from the fish, so this meal is less likely to cause a sharp rise in blood sugar.

Contains fish. Free from gluten and dairy as written. For another sea bass dinner, try the sea bass with salsa verde and new potatoes.