Equipment
Ingredients
Fish
- 2 sea bream fillets, pin-boned, skin-on
Sauce and Aromatics
- 15 ml olive oil, extra virgin
- 200 g cherry tomatoes, halved
- 2 garlic, thinly sliced
- 1 fresh red chilli, finely sliced
- 45 ml dry white wine
- 10 g fresh basil, torn
- 2 lemon wedges
- kosher salt
- black pepper
Nutrition (per serving)
Method
Pat the sea bream fillets completely dry on both sides using paper towels to ensure a crispy skin. Score the skin lightly 2 or 3 times to prevent curling, and season generously with salt and black pepper. Wash your hands and all surfaces thoroughly after handling the raw fish to prevent cross-contamination.
Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once the oil is shimmering, carefully lay the sea bream fillets into the pan, skin-side down. Press down gently on the flesh with your spatula for the first 10 seconds to ensure even skin contact with the pan. Cook without moving until the skin is golden and crisp.
Carefully flip the fillets using a thin fish spatula. Cook on the flesh side just to seal the surface, then remove the fillets to a clean plate and set aside. Leave the residual oil in the skillet.
Reduce the heat under the skillet to medium. Add the thinly sliced garlic and fresh red chilli to the remaining oil. Cook briefly, stirring constantly, until aromatic but before the garlic takes on any brown color.
Add the halved cherry tomatoes and pour in the dry white wine. Scrape the bottom of the skillet to lift any browned bits into the liquid. Allow the mixture to bubble and cook down until the wine is reduced by half and the tomatoes begin to soften and burst.
Lower the heat to gentle simmer. Return the sea bream fillets to the skillet, placing them skin-side up on top of the tomato mixture. Let them warm through in the sauce until the thickest part of the fillet flakes easily and reaches a safe internal temperature of 63°C/145°F.
Remove the skillet from the heat. Scatter the torn fresh basil leaves over the fish and sauce. Serve immediately, directly from the skillet or transferred to plates, accompanied by fresh lemon wedges.
Chef's Notes
- Scoring the skin of the sea bream severs the connective tissue, preventing the fillets from curling upwards when they hit the hot oil.
- Applying gentle downward pressure on the fish for the first 10 seconds of cooking forces the entire surface area of the skin to make contact with the pan, ensuring maximum crispness.
- Using room temperature, ripe cherry tomatoes is crucial here. Cold tomatoes will drop the pan temperature too much, and underripe ones will lack the natural sugars needed to balance the acidity of the wine.
Storage
Refrigerator: 2 days — Store in an airtight container. The skin will lose its crispness upon storage.
Reheating: Reheat gently in a skillet over low heat with a splash of water until just warmed through to avoid overcooking the fish.
