Frying a piece of fish has a bit of a bad rep, and I’m not really sure why; you can have a deeply delicious and light meal in less than 10 minutes (though that, of course, also depends on its accompaniments). If I don’t want anything too hearty, I’ll often serve it with greens or a salad, so it really is a quick turnaround. I love this simple brown butter caper dressing, because it doesn’t overpower the fish. However, if you want something a little punchier, add a spoonful of harissa to the mix.

Fried sea bream with herby lemon and caper burnt butter

Prep 5 min
Cook 20 min
Serves 2

2 sea bream fillets (about 100g each)
Sea salt and black pepper
40g unsalted butter
2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely grated
2 tbsp capers
Juice of ½ lemon
½ bunch mixed soft herbs (ie, flat-leaf parsley, chives, mint)
2 tbsp olive oil

Take the fish out of the fridge, pat it dry with kitchen paper so there is no moisture on the fillets, and season generously. Make sure you have the rest of your ingredients ready, because this cooks so quickly.

Put the butter in a large frying pan on a medium heat. As soon as it melts and starts to smell nutty, add the grated garlic and capers, and fry for a few minutes, until golden. Squeeze in the lemon juice and take off the heat. Stir in most of the chopped herbs, then pour into a small bowl and set aside.

Drizzle the olive oil into the same frying pan over a medium heat, then lay in the fish skin side down and fry for four to five minutes, until the skin is crisp and golden. Turn up the heat a little, flip over the fish and fry for a couple of minutes more, until cooked through and golden all over.

Pour the caper butter back into the pan for the last 30 seconds, then serve scattered with the remaining herbs.

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