Great Recipes - Middle-Eastern Sea Bream Recipe

  
 

Middle-Eastern Sea Bream Recipe

 

Ingredients

  • 1.75kg/4 lb sea bream or 2 smaller sea bream

  • 30ml/2 tbsp olive oil

  • 75g/3 oz pine nuts

  • 1 large onion, finely chopped

  • 450g/1 lb ripe tomatoes, roughly chopped

  • 75g/3 oz raisins

  • 1.5ml/1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

  • 1.5ml/1/4 tsp mixed spice

  • 45ml/3 tbsp chopped fresh mint

  • 225g/8 oz long grain rice

  • 3 lemon slices

  • 300ml/1/2 pint fish stock

Serves 4

Method:

  1. Trim, gut and scale the sea bream. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 175C.

  2. Heat the oil in a large heavy-based saucepan and stir-fry the pine nuts for 1 minute. Add the onions and continue to stir-fry until softened but not colored.

  3. Add the tomatoes and simmer for 10 minutes, then stir in the raisins, cinnamon, mixed spice and mint.

  4. Add the rice and lemon slices. Transfer to a large roasting tin and pour the fish stock over the top.

  5. Place the fish on top and cut several slashes in the skin. Sprinkle over a little salt, mixed spice and cinnamon and bake in the preheated oven for 30-35 minutes for large fish or 2025 minutes for smaller fish.

Notes: If you prefer, use almonds instead of pine nuts. Use the same quantity of blanched almonds and split them in half before stir-frying.