I like my fish cooked simply – just whacked in the pan for a few minutes suits me fine – but I then like to pair it with strong, piquant flavours. Tapenade, a coarse purée of black olives, garlic, anchovies and olive oil, is just the thing to accentuate the subtle qualities of a good piece of fish.
Serves 4
200g couscous
2 tablespoons olive oil
A sprig of thyme or 2 bay leaves (optional)
4 fillets from 2 medium (500–600g) bream
A squeeze of lemon juice
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the tapenade
200g stoned black olives
1 tablespoon capers, rinsed
1 teaspoon thyme leaves
1 large garlic clove, chopped
4 anchovy fillets (or use more if you’re a real anchovy fan)
4 tablespoons olive oil
A squeeze of lemon juice, or more to taste
To serve
Lemon wedges
For the tapenade, put all the ingredients in a food processor and whiz to a coarse purée. Add pepper and more lemon juice to taste, but you are unlikely to need salt (the olives, capers and anchovies add plenty). Scrape the tapenade out of the processor into a bowl and set aside.
Prepare the couscous according to the packet instructions. When cooked, fluff it up with a fork to separate the grains, then trickle over 1 tablespoon olive oil, season with salt and pepper and fork through. Keep the couscous warm.
Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat. Add the thyme or bay leaves, if using. Season the fish all over and add to the pan, skin side down. Cook for about 3 minutes until the skin is golden, then flip the fillets over and cook for another 1–2 minutes until the fish is just cooked through.
Heap the couscous on to warm plates, place a fish fillet alongside and spoon a generous portion of tapenade between the two. Put any remaining tapenade in a dish on the table for people to help themselves. Serve with lemon wedges and a simply cooked green vegetable such as French or broad beans, or a crisp green salad.
SWAPS Bream is my favourite for this dish, but sea bass, mackerel, grey mullet and gurnard all work very well too.