Roasted sea bream and charred broccoli with a lemon and oil dressing

SERVES 2

For the fish

1 unwaxed lemon

a bunch of fresh herbs (flat-leaf parsley, dill, rosemary)

1 prepared and cleaned sea bream, weighing 600g-750g

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

For the broccoli

250g purple sprouting broccoli

extra virgin olive oil, for sprinkling

For the fried garlic

3 garlic cloves, finely sliced

50ml extra virgin olive oil, for frying

For the lemon and olive oil emulsion

juice and zest of ½ an unwaxed lemon

50ml extra virgin olive oil

1 tbsp finely chopped fresh dill

•  Preheat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Cut the lemon in half. Keep one half for serving and cut the other half into thin slices. Place the fresh herbs and slices of lemon in the fish cavity, sprinkle salt, pepper and oil over the top then rub it in to coat the fish all over. Slash the skin twice, then place in an ovenproof dish and bake for 17 minutes.

•  Meanwhile, cook the broccoli. Rinse, then drop it into a pan of salted boiling water to cook for a couple of minutes. Remove it with a spider ladle and plunge into ice-cold water. Leave to cool completely, then drain. Place in a dish, sprinkle with olive oil, salt and pepper then rub gently with your hands to coat.

•  Heat a griddle pan on a high flame. Place the broccoli on it and press down with a metal spatula to get the char lines of the pan. Turn to repeat on the other side. Remove from the griddle and keep warm.

•  Place the garlic in a fine-mesh tea strainer. Pour the oil into a small saucepan or frying pan to a depth of 2cm-3cm and, when the oil is hot, lower the tea strainer into it. The garlic should sizzle. If it doesn’t, take it out and wait for the oil to get hotter. Now lower the temperature so as not to burn the garlic slices and swirl the tea strainer to ensure even cooking to a lovely deep golden colour. Remove the strainer and drain the garlic on kitchen paper. Sprinkle with salt and set aside.

•  To make the lemon and olive oil emulsion, put the lemon juice and zest into a bowl. Start adding the olive oil, drop by drop, then in a thin stream, whisking all the time until you have a thick sauce. Season, add the dill and mix well.

•  To serve, cut off the head of the fish and discard it (or you can leave the head on if you wish). Run a knife along the spine of the fish to separate the two halves and remove the flesh gently to serving plates, using a fish spatula. Quickly remove the bigger, more visible bones and cooked herbs then add a lemon quarter on the side. Arrange some of the broccoli alongside each fish half and scatter over the fried garlic flakes. Serve the lemon and olive oil emulsion separately in a bowl.