SEA BASS & SUPERFOOD SALAD

A couple of weeks ago my gorgeous friend Jamie invited me over to her house for a cooking lesson with some of her friends - I felt very privileged to be included in their American group as I am such a wannabe American. It was a fabulous evening - food and Americans - I was in my element!

The lovely chef Sam had created a fantastic menu for us of Sea Bass with Salsa Rosso, Lentils and a Superfood Salad and then a Chocolate Bomb with Vanilla Creme Fraiche - YUM! The superfood salad was so unbelievably good that I have been desperate to make it ever since and so tonight I did for Arabella and I along with the sea bass.

Ingredients for 4 people:

4 sea bass fillets with skin on
Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper
1 broccoli head, cut into bite-sized florets
150g peas, frozen
Half a cucumber, cut into slim baton
Half a packet of feta cheese, cut into chunks 
2 avocados
1 handful of toasted seeds, sunflower and pumpkin
30g quinoa
1/4 lemon juice
1 tsp soy sauce (I forgot to add this to the original picture)
(You can also add 20g alfalfa and a handful of fresh chopped herbs like parsley & mint - I didn't bother as it was just Arabella and I)

First off preheat the oven to 180 C and boil some water for the quinoa and peas.

Then cut the broccoli into bite size pieces, pour over a good glug of olive oil (about a tablespoon).

Put the broccoli in the oven for 10-12 minutes until it starts to brown and then simmer the quinoa in some boiled water for 15 minutes and boil the peas for 3 minutes.

As the ingredients become ready pour them into a big bowl. You will need to strain the quinoa first.

While you are cooking the above, cut the avocado and feta into chunks and the cucumber into slim batons.

Then start mixing together.

Dry fry the seeds and then mix with a teaspoon of soy sauce.

Add to the rest of the ingredients and mix with the lemon juice and 1 tablespoon of olive oil and season.

Set the salad aside and start on the sea bass. Season generously and score the skin of the fish a couple of times.

Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a frying pan until hot. Fry the fish skin side down for 5 minutes until the flesh starts to turn from translucent to white. Don't touch or move the fish as it can then stick.

I wasn't paying attention and made the mistake of cooking it for 7-8 minutes and burnt it!! Whoops!! Anyway after 5 minutes, take the pan off the fish and flip over and cook for one minute.

Then serve over the superfood salad.

Despite the fact the skin on the fish was burnt to a crisp, this dish was absolutely amazing. I am obsessed with this superfood salad and cannot wait to eat the leftovers tomorrow. Plus the fish was so incredibly tasty, it got the big thumbs up from Arabella too. My only complaint is that my house now stinks of fish….thank goodness for scented candles!!! 

Now I need to work on recreating that chocolate bomb….