I’m starting to find that supermarkets are getting more and more stocked up these days (except for flour and eggs which are just non-existent still!), which mean I was able to get my hands on some seabass fillets from my local Tesco Express. These normally come with a ready made butter, but I prefer to make my own. These seabass fillets are perfect for pan-frying as they are super thin and take no time to cook! I love to coat mine in flour to get a wonderful crunch on the outside but keeping it flakey on the inside.
“Courgetti” are also a fun way to get some extra vegetables on your plate! You can usually buy these ready spiralised in a lot of supermarkets, but I actually have a spiraliser at home so did them myself. If you don’t have a spiraliser, you can either grate the courgette using a box grater or simply slice them up! I would say that you need 1 medium courgette per person for this dish and that will give you the perfect bed for your seabass.
For the sauce, I prefer to use unsalted butter and have control over the seasoning. The capers and olives add a natural salt to the sauce but sometimes you need to just add a little extra – just be patient and let all the flavours infuse the butter before you go in with your seasoning as you risk over salting! And if you’re not a fan of thyme, you can simply replace this with parsley or even oregano – it will be delicious either way!
So if you’re looking for a drool-worthy meal that’s ready in under 30 minutes, give this recipe a go!
Pan-Fried Seabass with Garlic Butter & “Courgetti”
Healthy lunch in less than 30 minutes! Delicious seabass in a garlic butter sauce on a bed of courgetti.
2
servings10
minutes15
minutes25
minutesIngredients
2 Seabass Fillets
1 Tbsp Plain Flour
20 g Salted Butter
50 g Unsalted Butter
2 Garlic cloves, finely chopped
2-4 Sprigs Fresh Thyme
1 Tbsp Capers, drained & rinsed
2 Tbsp Pitted Black olives, drained
1/2 Lemon
2 Medium Courgettes, spiralised
12 Plum tomatoes, halved
1/2 Tsp Garlic Powder
Salt
Pepper
Olive Oil
Directions
- Pat the seabass fillets dry with a kitchen towel, season with salt and pepper and coat in the plain flour. Tap off any excess flour and set aside.
- In a medium frying pan, add 1 Tbsp olive oil and heat on medium. Add the spiralised courgetti and fry for 7-10 minutes. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper and the garlic powder. After 3 minutes add the tomatoes. Stir occasionally to avoid it burning.
- In a large frying pan, add the salted butter and 1 Tbsp olive oil. Once it’s melted and starting to bubble, add the seabass skin-side down and fry on a medium heat for 3-4 minutes. Carefully flip over and fry for another 3-4 minutes. Set aside on a plate, cover and wipe down the frying pan.
- Add the unsalted butter into the frying pan and another tbsp of olive oil on a medium-low heat. Once melted, add the garlic and sauté for a minute before adding the thyme. Stir and allow to infuse for 2-3 minutes. Add the capers, olives and the juice from the lemon. Stir and check the seasoning, add a pinch of salt if required (the capers and olives will naturally season) and leave for 1 more minutes – be careful to not let the garlic burn!
- Time to plate up – divide the courgetti onto 2 plates, place the seabass on top and spoon over the garlic butter sauce.