I was inspired to re-create this sea bass dish after I had a similar meal at Browns Bar and Brasserie the other week – only me being the greedy piggy that I am decided to throw in a whole lot more and make a massive dinner (eyes bigger than my belly again.)

Up until a year ago I was never a huge fan of fish, and it wasn’t until I went to work in Cantabria in the north of Spain that this changed. I was told upon arriving that after tasting the local fish dishes, I would favour fish over meat. I was proved right and found that the fish was by far more flavoursome and better quality than I had ever tried back home. Once I came back to England I made a special effort to ensure I ate fish at least once a week and it is now tradition in my house to have ‘Fish Wednesday’s.’

Sea bass is by far my favourite dish and I ate a whole load of it on my visit to Rhodes this summer – the best was found at a roof-top restaurant in Lindos named Caesar’s which is highly recommended if anyone ever visits the island. Here is a link to the website – www.caesarslindos.com

In this dish I have combined my favourite things, honey roasted sweet potatoes with parsnips and chickpeas in a tomato based sauce.

Serves 2

Ingredients

• 1 sweet potato
• 2 parsnips
• 1-2 sea bass fillets depending on how big the portion
• 1 tin of chickpeas
• 1 small jar of passata sauce
• Broccoli (optional)
• Honey to drizzle
• Parsley
• Dill
• Basil
• Paprika

1)     Begin by chopping up the sweet potatoes and parsnips and drizzling them with honey and olive oil. Place on a baking tray and roast in the oven at 190 for 35 minutes until they have gone gold and crispy.

2)     Warm the chickpeas in a saucepan, then add the passata sauce and season with salt and pepper. Add some basil to the sauce if desired. Wait for it to boil then leave to simmer on a low heat whilst the vegetables are cooking.

3)     Boil the broccoli for 5-6 minutes, then drain and add to the passata sauce and mix in.

4)     Heat a frying pan with olive oil. Season the fish with parsley, dill and paprika if you prefer a bit of spice in the dish. Squeeze on the juice of half a lemon and pan fry on each side for around 3 – 4 minutes, ensuring the fish is crisp and brown.

5)     Once the vegetables are cooked, toss into the passata and chickpea mixture and use as a bedding for the sea bass to sit on.