Sea Bass with Spicy Butter Bean Stew

Madeleine Shaw has been in my life now for a few years. It's great when a new chef or writer comes onto the scene who's recipes are fresh and inventive and obviously taste great. This fish dish is from her excellent debut book Ready steady Glow

The stew could actually be eaten on its own with some crusty bread. I've added some Kale chips for added colour, texture and the fact that I just thought it lacked a bit of veg!

For 2 people, you will need:

Ingredients

2 Sea Bass fillets. 2 tbsp Coconut Oil. 2 tbsp Chopped Rosemary. 2 Crushed Garlic Cloves. 1.5 tsp Smoked Paprika. 100g Finely Chopped Chorizo. Red Pepper Diced. 400g Drained and Rinsed Butter Beans. 200ml Chicken Stock. 2 Hand fulls of Kale Leaves. Tbsp Olive Oil. Seasoning.

Method

Heat 1 tbsp coconut oil in a pan and add the rosemary, garlic, paprika, chorizo and pepper. Cook until the Chorizo starts to crisp up and then add the butter beans. Reduce heat to low and add the stock. Simmer for 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, season the fish on both sides and heat another pan on high. Meanwhile again, toss the kale in the olive oil and salt and roast in oven (200c) for 5 minutes or until crispy. Add 1 tbsp coconut oil to the pan and fry the fish skin side down for 3 minutes for crispy skin. Turn over for a minute until just cooked through.

To serve, spoon the stew onto plates, top with the sea bass and then the kale. I love chorizo with anything, but it works really well with the fish and the creamy beans. Rosemary which can be too strong for fish sits quite comfortably alongside the smoky chorizo and if you want to do posh fish and chips, this is a great example.

Beetroot, Labneh & Dukkah Salad

I was raised on salads of bland lettuce, watery tomatoes, cucumber, jarred beetroot and celery. Thankfully, Heinz salad cream was on hand to add some flavour. Those days are long gone and sexy, funky salads with bags of attitude, texture and layers of flavour are here. Yesterday's offering was courtesy of my preferred airport stop off, Leon. Leon Happy Salads There are a few processes involved, however once everything comes together you are left with a hearty, yet refreshing salad. For two people....

Ingredients

400g Roasted Beetroot, cut into chunks. 200g Cooked Puy Lentils. Half finely sliced marinated Red Onion (2 tsp soft brown sugar, tbsp. red wine vinegar, pinch of salt). 2 tbsp. Olive Oil. Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar. Bunch of Watercress. 2 finely sliced Radishes. 50g Labneh or Thick Greek Yoghurt. Tbsp chopped fresh Mint. 2 tbsp Dukkah. Seasoning.

Method

Mix the beetroot with the red onions and lentils. Then stir through the olive oil, balsamic and seasoning. Arrange the watercress on a large plate and add the beetroot mix. Sprinkle the radishes on top, then drizzle the labneh. Dress with the mint and dukkah.

The sweetness of the beetroot works well with the peppery leaves, creamy labney and the fragrant dukkah. (Dukkah is basically a blitzed mix of seeds and nuts) One final note. You don't need two slices of Mother's Pride to mop up the residual dressing.