Crispy Sea Bass with Blitzed Beet Sauce and Quick Pickled Veg

Not only striking to look at, this dish is packed with punchy and vibrant flavours and textures which will leave your taste-buds delighted. Perfect for a quick lunch or light supper, you can have this on the table in a matter of moments.

Beetroot can be a bit like Marmite - you either love it or hate it - but I think this sauce can convert even the most fierce haters because it's creamy and tangy thanks to the yoghurt and lemon and only has a hint of that earthiness from the beets. There's more tang thanks to the pickled veg and then there's crispy sea bass with a hint of curry flavour from some garam masala - heaven!

Crispy Sea Bass with Blitzed Beet Sauce and Quick Pickled Veg

Serves 2

oil

2 sea bass fillets 

1 tsp garam masala

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Pickled Veg:

1½ tbsp white wine vinegar 

1 tsp caster sugar 

½ cucumber, peeled into strips 

1 small carrot, peeled into strips 

Blitzed Beet Sauce:

150g ready-cooked beetroot, drained and roughly chopped 

100g quark 

2 tbsp natural yogurt 

1 lemon, juiced

To make the quick pickled veg, whisk together the white wine vinegar, caster sugar and some seasoning. Add the cucumber and carrot, and toss well. Set aside.

Put the chopped beetroot, quark, yogurt, lemon juice and some seasoning into the bowl of a food processor and whizz until smooth. 

Brush the fish fillets all over in the oil, season well and cover just the flesh side of the fish with the garam masala. Heat a non-stick frying pan over a medium heat and add the fish skin-side down. Cook for 4-5 minutes until the skin is very crisp, then turn the fish and cook for 30 seconds. 

Serve the blitzed beetroot spooned onto the plate, the fish on top, with the drained pickled veg alongside.