Allspice, cranberry & almond stuffed sea bass

FESTIVE flavours. Serves: 6.

Ingredients

6 fillets from 3 large sea bass

50g/2oz butter

1 lemon, cut into wedges

FOR THE STUFFING:

1 tbsp ghee or coconut oil

1 red onion, finely chopped

2 celery sticks, finely chopped

3 garlic cloves, crushed

¾ tsp ground

allspice Small bunch thyme, leaves picked and chopped

¼ tsp ground white pepper 50g/2oz dried unsweetened cranberries, halved

1 eating apple, skin on and grated 100g/4oz ground almonds

2 tbsp lemon juice To serve: Coleslaw and mash

Method

1 For stuffing, heat ghee or coconut oil in large frying pan. Add onion, celery and garlic, and fry very gently for seven minutes or until softened but not coloured. Stir in allspice, thyme, pepper and ¼ tsp salt, and fry for five minutes. Add cranberries, apple and almonds, and cook for another four to five minutes until dry and sticky. Remove from heat, add lemon juice and allow to cool. Can be made up to two days ahead.

2 Heat oven to 190c/170c fan/gas 5. Lay one sea bass fillet, skin-side down, in middle of a large sheet of baking parchment. Cover with one-third of the stuffing, then top with matching fillet, skin-side up. Tie fillets together with string, dot with butter and season with salt. Wrap baking parchment into a tight parcel around fish, then wrap in foil (don’t let foil touch fish). Repeat with rest of the fillets. Can be prepared up to one day ahead.

3 Put parcels on a large baking tray and bake for 25 minutes. Remove from oven, let parcels sit for two to three minutes, then open them carefully and serve fish with coleslaw, mash and lemon wedges.