Pan-Fried Fish with Lemon and Chilli Carrots

The star of this dish is the carrots. You can honestly forget the rest and just serve them with whatever you like. The combination of fresh and preserved lemon gives a real citrus hit and the addition of chilli just sets the whole thing alight. 

If you are following my lead, I served mine with shredded sweetheart cabbage and roughly chopped sugar snap peas cooked off in a pan with a little oil and two crushed garlic cloves. This takes around ten minutes and you can cook it whilst the carrots roast. 

Pan-Fried Fish with Lemon and Chilli Carrots
Serves 2

olive or rapeseed oil

400g carrots, cut into rounds on an angle

1 preserved lemon, seeds removed and finely chopped

1 small lemon, zest and juice

1 tsp chilli flakes

handful fresh basil leaves, chopped

2 sea bass fillets

stir-fried greens, to serve

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat the oven to 200°C/fan180°C/gas 6. Put the carrots in a baking dish lined with baking paper. Add the preserved lemon, lemon zest and juice, chilli flakes, salt, pepper and a tablespoon of oil. Toss well until everything is combined then spread out in a single layer.

Bake for 30-40 minutes or until the carrots are cooked. Five minutes before the carrots are ready, lightly season the fish with salt and pepper. Heat a drizzle of oil in a frying pan on a high heat. Cook the fish for 4 minutes on the skin side then flip over and turn off the heat.

Divide the carrots between plates together with some greens then top with the fish and scatter over the basil.