The world of food and cooking

This fish dish is really easy to make! It’s full of flavour and ideal for just about any type of cooking – barbequing, pan-frying or baking. You can really taste the flavours of basil and thyme coming through. Make sure you score the fish first as it can help you to see when it’s cooked.

Serves: 4

Preparation time: 15-25 minutes

Ingredients:

4 sea breams, about 300g (2oz) each, or 2 sea breams, about 500g (5oz) each, scaled and gutted
Salt and pepper
2 tsp olive oil
4 large sun-dried tomatoes, each cut into four pieces
A bunch of thyme
A bunch of basil, leaves only

To serve: extra-virgin olive oil

Method:

With a sharp knife, make three or four deep cuts into the thickest part of the fish on both sides. Season the cuts and inside the cavity with olive oil and sea salt. Place a sprig of thyme into each cut. Put the sun-dried tomatoes and a handful of basil leaves into the cavity of each fish.

Place the fish on the barbecue – making sure there are no flames, just white-hot coals – and cook for 5-6 minutes on each side for the smaller fish and up to 10 minutes for larger ones. We usually prepare it in a big non-stick pan with a small quantity of oil in it, on medium heat. It takes the same time for each side – from 5 up to 10 minutes, depending from the size of the fish.

Carefully transfer the cooked fish to a serving platter and drizzle over the olive oil.