Sea Bream, Tapenade and Saffron Fennel
Éric Chavotis a French Michelin starred chef at the eponymous restaurantBrasserie Chavotin Conduit Street in London’s Mayfair. Here, he shares a recipe of sea bream, tapenade and saffron fennel – a perfect French-inspired simple supper.
Serves 4
Ingredients
Two sea bream weighing 750-800g each, filleted
Tapenade
100g pitted black olives
40g sundried tomatoes, finely chopped
20g parmesan
20g raw pine nuts, finely chopped
15g original vincotto vinegar (or thick balsamic vinegar)
30g green Pesto (you can buy this)
Saffron braised fennel
2 fennel, core removed, cut in four
2 star anise
240ml orange juice
100g butter
100ml olive oil
2 sprigs of thyme
1 garlic clove
1 pinch saffron
Dash of pernod
Salt and pepper
To Serve
Handful basil, torn
Method
To make the tapenade, grind together all the ingredients and set aside.
To make the saffron braised fennel, heat the oven to 140C. Place everything together in a pot, cover and place in the oven for 30 minutes, until the fennel is softened. Use a knife to check it cuts through easily. Pan-fry the fennel in a little olive oil for a minute on each side, until golden.
In the same pan, fry the sea bream skin side down for three minutes, until golden. Take the pan off the heat and turn the fish over. Spread a tablespoon of tapenade on top of each fillet of fish.
Divide the fish and saffron braised fennel between four plates and serve with plenty of fresh basil.