Fillet of sea bass 'au Pistou'

  • medium
  • 4
  • 1 hour 15 minutes
Not yet rated

This beautiful sea bass recipe from the Galvin brothers is a summer recipe through and through. Pistou itself is a French form of pesto, in this case served stirred into a soup made from summer vegetables.

First published in 2015

Ingredients

Metric

Imperial

Sea bass

For the soup

For the pistou

To serve

Equipment

  • Pestle and mortar

Method

1
Begin by making the pistou. Using a pestle and mortar, purée the garlic, then add the pine nuts and basil leaves and continue pounding to make a paste. Add the oil gradually, combining thoroughly to form a sauce, then season to taste and store in the fridge until required
2
For the soup, heat the olive oil in a heavy-based pan and add the diced onion, cooking until soft. Add the other vegetables to the pan and season, then place a lid on the pan and sweat the vegetables for 3 minutes until soft and tender
3
Add the water to the pan, bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer and leave to cook for 8 minutes. Add the orzo to the pan and cook for a further 4 minutes, or until cooked
  • 1.5l mineral water
  • 50g of orzo
4
Meanwhile, heat 2 non-stick pans with a little olive oil and season the sea bass with salt - it’s best to use 2 pans to prevent overcrowding. Place the fish skin-side down into the hot pans and cook, turning after 5 minutes. Cook the fish on the other side for a further 2 minutes
5
Remove the soup from the heat and add the diced tomatoes to the pan, along with the pistou. Stir to thoroughly to combine, check the seasoning, and divide between 4 bowls
  • 2 tomatoes, blanched, skinned, deseeded and cut into 1cm dice
6
To serve, sprinkle the soup with the grated Gruyère and top with the cooked fish. Finish with a pinch of salt and a dash of olive oil
First published in 2015

Chris and Jeff Galvin have spearheaded the revival of high quality French bistro cuisine in the UK, offering affordable luxury, family hospitality and ingredient-led, seasonal menus across their restaurant empire.

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