Sea bass with pearl barley risotto & gremolata

Created by Nicola Dibble, from the Barnstaple Slimming World group in Devon

Serves 4 Ready in 50 minutes

Low-calorie cooking spray

1 large onion, finely chopped 300g dried pearl barley

1 litre hot vegetable stock

150g frozen peas

200g spinach

Zest and juice of 1 unwaxed lemon, plus wedges to serve

25g fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped

1 large garlic clove, crushed 4 boneless sea bass fillets, patted dry

1 Spray a non-stick frying pan with lowcalorie cooking spray and place over a medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 4-5 minutes until starting to soften, stirring frequently (add a splash of water if the onion starts to stick). Add the pearl barley and stock, and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 30 minutes, or until the

pearl barley is tender and the liquid has almost gone. Stir occasionally to start with to make sure nothing sticks, then stir more frequently towards the end of cooking.

2 Boil the peas and spinach for 2 minutes, then drain, saving a little of the cooking water. Blend until smooth using a stick or jug blender, adding a splash of the cooking water to loosen the mixture if needed. Add half the lemon juice, then stir the mixture through the pearl barley.

3 For the gremolata, mix together the remaining lemon juice, lemon zest, parsley and garlic, and set aside. Place a large, non-stick frying pan over a medium-high heat. Season the sea bass and spray with low-calorie cooking spray. Add to the pan skin-side down and cook for 2 minutes until the skin is crispy. Turn and cook for a further minute, or until cooked through.

4 Divide the pearl barley risotto between 4 bowls and top each with a sea bass fillet. Scatter over the gremolata and serve with lemon wedges for squeezing over.