TODAY’S RECIPE: Grilled sea bass, crisp potato skins and crab butter

SMART supper. Serves 4.

Ingredients FOR THE POTATOES:

1kg Maris Pipers

2 tbsp vegetable oil Handful of thyme sprigs, plus a few leaves to serve

Sprinkle flaky sea salt

FOR THE SEA BASS:

1 salad onion, white part finely chopped 2 tbsp white wine vinegar

50g butter, softened

100g pot prepared white and brown crab meat 4 sea bass fillets, descaled

Olive oil

Method

1 Heat the oven to 180c/fan 160c/gas 4. Cut the ends from the potatoes and set aside. Then cut the peel and 1 cm flesh, leaving blocky barrels (500g skins are needed for this recipe; the rest of the potato can be used elsewhere — you could mash and freeze it). On a shallow baking tray, massage the potato skins and ends with oil, salt and thyme. Roast for 30 minutes, turning half way, until tender and crisping. Set aside.

2 Simmer the salad onion with the vinegar until reduced to around 1 tsp. Strain the vinegar into the butter (keeping the onion), then add the crab and some seasoning. Mash well, then leave to chill.

3 Heat the grill to high. Slash the skin of each sea bass fillet three times and season. Grill the potatoes for 2 minutes, or until hot and starting to crisp again. Lay the fish on top. Pour oil over the fish and grill for 4 minutes, or until opaque with the skin crisping.

4 Dollop ¼ of the crab butter on to each fillet, then grill for 1 minute, until the butter begins to melt. Transfer the fish to warmed plates and serve with the potato skins, thyme leaves and charred onion. n