Roasted seabass with tomato and lentil stew

Ingredients

4 x 4-6oz seabass fillets, skin scored
Olive oil
1 red onion, finely diced
1 red pepper, skinned and diced (see tip)
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tsp smoked paprika
1 tbsp harissa paste
400 g can chopped tomatoes 
1 tbsp tomato purée
2 x 400 g can brown lentils, drained and rinsed thoroughly
Salt and pepper
1 lemon
Flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped

Method

1. In a medium hot pan, sweat the onion and pepper in a little oil until they begin to soften.
2. Add the garlic, paprika and harissa and continue to cook for 2-3 minutes.
3. Add the chopped tomatoes and tomato purée and simmer gently for 5 minutes.
4. Add the lentils and continue cooking over a low heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
5. Season with salt and pepper, cover and set aside while cooking the fish.
6. Season the seabass fillets well with salt and pepper.
7. Add a little oil to a non-stick pan and get the pan hot before adding the seabass fillets skin side down.
8. Cook for approximately 4-8 minutes depending on thickness of the fillet.
9. Turn the fillets over and cook for 1 minute, then remove from the heat and allow the fish to finish cooking in the residual heat.
10. To serve, place a generous ladle of lentil stew into a bowl and top with the seabass. Finish with a squeeze of lemon and fresh chopped parsley.

Tips

To peel a pepper, hold it directly over a flame from your gas burner, turning it intermittently until most of the skin has turned black. Place it into a bag or wrap tightly in cling film and leave it for a few minutes, the steam will cause the skin to loosen and you will be able to easily rub the skin off. This also leaves the pepper with a delicious smoky roasted flavour.

When cooking the seabass skin side down, hold the fish down in the pan or cover with parchment and place a weight on top for the first few minutes of cooking. This will prevent the fish from curling up and ensure that the skin is beautifully golden, crisp and evenly cooked.

Serves 4.