GRILLED BREAM

I generally prefer to cook fish whole, as it has so much flavour and is more fun to eat. This is really simple: the most important thing is getting the skin right (don’t even think about not eating the skin!). You want it to cook quickly, so it crisps and is juicy inside – if it cooks too slowly the skin won’t become crispy.

It’s expensive but, if you can afford it, look for wild bream: the scales should have a black dot parallel to the eye. You can use regular sea bream too.

FOR 6

100ml extra virgin olive oil

8 cloves of garlic

4 whole bream (around 600g – ask your fishmonger to scale and gut them for you)

4 bay leaves

½ a bunch of fresh thyme

1 lemon, cut in quarters

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

4 tablespoons chilli oil

4 tablespoons ajillo (see here)

Preheat the oven to 200–220°C and put a baking tray, lightly greased with olive oil, in to warm up (alternatively, you can keep your fish in the pan if the handle is oven safe).

Smash the garlic and stuff it inside the bream with the herbs and lemon, squeezing the lemon a little. Massage the fish with plenty of olive oil, and season with salt and pepper.

Put the rest of the olive oil into a pan on a medium-high heat. Add the fish and cook for 1 minute on each side, just to get the skin crispy.

Transfer the fish to the tray and roast in the oven for 12–15 minutes.

Remove and finish with the chilli oil and ajillo. This is lovely with a green salad or something else green like samphire on the side.