Korean seabass with BBQ baby aubergines

I cooked this dish in Poole Harbour, the second-largest natural harbour in the world after Sydney. The area is famous for its cockles and seabass. This simple sauce goes well with any fish but also meat, such as chicken, beef or lamb.

SERVES 6 PREP 40min, plus soaking COOK about 15min

• 300g mussels, cleaned and debearded

• 200g clams, cleaned

• 1.5kg line-caught seabass

• 10 baby aubergines

• Olive oil

• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

• 6 spring onions, sliced diagonally

• Zest and juice of 1 lime

• A few sprigs of mint and coriander

• Sesame oil, for drizzling

FOR THE SAUCE

• 2tbsp gochujang chilli paste

• 4tbsp soy sauce

• 2tsp sesame oil

• 6tbsp soft brown sugar

• 5cm piece fresh root ginger, grated

• 4 garlic cloves, crushed

• 1 green chilli, diced

• 1tbsp each white and black sesame seeds

• Zest and juice of 1 lime

• 1tbsp freshly chopped mint

• 1tbsp freshly chopped coriander

To prepare the mussels, pull off the stringy beards, knock off any barnacles and give the shells a scrub in fresh water to clean. Throw away any with

broken shells or that don’t close tightly when you tap them. To clean the clams of sand or grit, soak them for 20min in a bowl of cold salty water. Drain, then transfer to a bowl of clean cold water to soak for a further 10min, so they don’t taste too salty.

2 Light your BBQ. When the coals are silvery, it’s ready to cook on.

3 Put the seabass on a board and use a sharp fish knife to cut under the gills, then slide your knife into the flesh of the fish to start to remove the fillet. Working along the backbone and, keeping the fish knife flat, carefully continue to cut the fish away from the backbone and rib cage to remove the fillet. Turn the fish over and repeat on the other side to remove the other fillet. Set aside.

Place all the ingredients for the sauce, apart from the lime zest and juice and the herbs, into a small pan over a low heat. Season well and cook gently for

2-3min. Sprinkle in half of the herbs, season well and stir, then simmer the sauce gently for a couple of minutes. Add the lime zest and juice, stir again, then take the pan off the heat.

5 Meanwhile, pop the aubergines onto a board and drizzle a little olive oil over each one, season and rub in. Lift onto the BBQ rack and cook for about 8min, turning a couple of times until roasted all over. As soon as they’re ready, lift them onto a large serving dish.

6 Tear a large square piece of foil, big enough to enclose the fish, and lay on a board. Sprinkle over a third of the spring onions, pop the bass fillets on top, then add the clams and mussels. Spoon about 4tbsp of the sauce over the fish. Sprinkle over the lime zest, the juice and another third of the spring onions, plus the mint and coriander sprigs. Pop another piece of foil over the top and seal the edges well. Place the parcel on to the BBQ and cook for 4-5min.

7 Open the parcel, check that the fish is opaque and the clams and mussels have opened (discard any that remain shut), then arrange over the aubergines. Spoon over the remaining sauce and sprinkle over the last spring onions. Finally, drizzle over a little sesame oil and serve.➺

Gochujang chilli paste is a Korean sweet/savoury, spicy fermented condiment available f rom Waitrose & Partners, £1.69 for 105g.