Med flavours on autumn evenings

This week, our chef Clodagh McKenna prepares a fresh, pan-fried fish in a zesty tomato broth

ILOVE sea bass — the delicious crispy skin you get from pan-frying it, the slightly oily meat, they way it flakes off the bone and how it melts in the mouth. There are lots of other fish you can use in this recipe besides sea bass — such as hake, sea bream, mackerel, cod or ling.

The most important thing, of course, is that the fish is fresh.

The first thing to check is the smell — it should not smell like fish, but like the sea. Second, the eyes should be bright and clear and, finally, the gills should be bright and red.

The best way to keep your fish as fresh as possible in the fridge is to wrap it tightly in cling film. If you have fillets, place one on top of the other, flesh side in, and wrap them.

The tomato, olive and herb broth is one of the best fish bases I have made. I came up with the recipe just a couple of weeks ago when I took the afternoon off to cook a supper for friends. It’s so fresh and full of delicious Mediterranean flavours.

I used good quality tinned organic tomatoes, but if you have some fresh vine or cherry tomatoes, use them instead. A little sprinkle of seaweed would be lovely here too — you can buy packs of dried seaweed in health food stores, and you just rehydrate it in warm water.

This is such a gorgeous healthy supper and all that’s needed with it is a glass of delicious pinot noir to create the most perfect autumn evening.