Sea BREAM & Melted LEEKS

A LITTLE ABOUT THE FISH

Sea Bream are a variety of fish species that are very popular for eating, an esteemed food fish, especially in Europe. The most common variety in this group is the European Sea Bream, mainly silver in colour, it is commonly found in oceans surrounding Europe and is considered to be a temperate-water fish, preferring water that is cool, but not extremely cold. Despite their popularity as seafood, these species remain very plentiful throughout. Sea Bream have traditionally been cultured extensively in coastal lagoons and saltwater ponds and has become an important aquaculture species, primarily in the Mediterranean area. Current reported production dwarfs the capture fisheries production. Sea Bream are sought after because of their mild, white meat, considered some of the best of any white-meat fish.

THE RECIPE

Ingredients:

2 Sea Bream Fillets
Salt and Black Pepper
8 Baby Leeks
1 tbsp Olive Oil
150g Butter
2 tbsp chopped chives
4 tbsp chopped parsley

 Method:

Cut off the dark green leaves from the tops of the leeks, slit the leeks about half way down the centre and rinse well under cold running water, then slice into thin rounds. Melt 50g of butter in a heavy saucepan over a medium heat, when the butter foams, add the sliced leeks and gently toss until coated with butter. Season with salt and pepper. Cover with a paper lid and a tight-fitting saucepan lid. reduce the heat and cook very gently for about 20 minutes until the leeks are soft and moist. Check and stir every now and then and add a couple of tablespoons of water if necessary.

CHOCOLATE and HAZELNUT Brownies (V)

This is a really quick and simple recipe. You can use plain chocolate, why not include a bit of dark chocolate or use white chocolate and replace the nuts with any you desire, walnuts, pistachio nuts, use your imagination!

Ingredients:

225g Plain chocolate
75g Chopped Hazelnuts
115g Butter and a little extra for greasing
115g soft brown sugar
115g Self-raising flour
2 Eggs

Fresh MINT Sauce

A LITTLE ABOUT THE MINT

Mint is an essential herb to have growing near the kitchen. It is also a perennial, which means you plant it once and it grows every year if you look after it, but in reality it doesn't take much, just make sure you keep it well watered. I keep my mint growing in a big pot near the kitchen as it is a very invasive plant, if you just put it in your garden it will spring up every where and quickly get out of control. Mint favours moist soil and does best in sun. Mint is in season from March to October each year. For cooking, mint is used in sweet and savoury dishes, to flavour and garnish. With my mint I recently made a very nice fresh Mint Sauce with no cooking required.

THE RECIPE

Ingredients:

Bunch of mint
Pinch salt
4 tbsp boiling water
4 tbsp white wine vinegar
1 tbsp caster sugar