Sea Bass with Salsa Verde and Crushed New Potatoes

Crisp skin is the whole point of pan-fried sea bass, and it comes down to two things: a completely dry fillet and a pan that is hot before the fish goes in. Press the fillet flat for the first 30 seconds so it does not curl, then leave it alone.

Dinner

Serves 2

Pan-fried sea bass fillets with crisp skin on crushed new potatoes and green beans, topped with green salsa verde

Ingredients

2 sea bass fillets, skin on (about 120g each)
400g new potatoes, halved if large
150g green beans, trimmed
1 tsp olive oil, for frying
For the salsa verde
A large handful each of flat-leaf parsley and basil, and a few mint leaves (30g in total)
1 tbsp capers, rinsed
2 anchovy fillets
1 small clove garlic
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tbsp lemon juice, plus wedges to serve
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Method

Boil the potatoes in salted water for 15 to 18 minutes, until tender. Add the green beans for the last 4 minutes. Drain.
Meanwhile, make the salsa verde: finely chop the herbs, capers, anchovies and garlic together on a board, then stir in the mustard, lemon juice and oil. Or pulse everything briefly in a small food processor. Keep it rough, not a smooth paste.
Pat the fish completely dry with kitchen paper, especially the skin. Score the skin 3 times with a sharp knife, so it does not curl, and season lightly.
Heat the oil in a non-stick frying pan over a medium-high heat until shimmering. Lay the fillets in skin side down and press them flat with a fish slice for 30 seconds.
Cook for 3 to 4 minutes without moving them, until the skin is crisp and golden and the flesh is opaque most of the way up. Turn and cook for 30 seconds to 1 minute more, until the fish is opaque all the way through and flakes easily.
Lightly crush the potatoes with a fork and stir through a spoonful of the salsa verde.
Divide the potatoes and beans between plates, put the fish on top, skin side up, and spoon over the rest of the salsa verde. Serve with lemon wedges.

Why it works

A serving has about 29g of protein for around 500 calories. Most comes from the sea bass, a lean white fish that cooks in under five minutes.

The NHS recommends at least two portions of fish a week, one of them oily. Sea bass is a white fish, but the NHS has previously listed it among a few white fish that can contain similar levels of some pollutants to oily fish, so it is best not to eat it every day. Vary it with other fish.

The salsa verde is the flavour and the fat. It is mostly herbs and extra virgin olive oil, which is high in monounsaturated fat, with anchovies and capers for depth. Both are salty, so the fish needs very little seasoning.

Keep the potato skins on. That is where much of the fibre is. Potatoes do not count towards your 5 a day, because the NHS counts them as a starchy food; the green beans do.

For women around menopause, swapping some red meat for fish and olive oil is one of the simplest changes for heart health: see menopause and heart health. For another quick fish dinner, try the pan-fried trout with almonds and green beans.

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