Shared recipe · Middle Eastern
Crisp Lemon & Pepper Sea Bass with Spiced Chickpeas, Herbed Couscous & Tahini Yoghurt
Serves 4 · 55 min cook
High-protein Middle Eastern plate: pan-crisped lemon-pepper sea bass over warm cumin-garlic chickpeas and fluffy herbed couscous, finished with a sharp radish-tomato salad and lemony tahini yoghurt.
Ingredients
Protein
- 0.5 tspBlack pepper
- 5 tbspOlive oil
- 1.5 tspSalt
- 1 packTesco 2 Boneless Sea Bass Fillets 180G
- 2 packTesco 2 Lemon & Pepper Sea Bass Fillets 200G
Salad
- 100 gTesco Bunched Spring Onions 100G
- 20 gTesco Fresh Cut Dill 20G
- 30 gTesco Fresh Cut Flat Leaf Parsley 30G
- 1 packTesco Little Gem Lettuce Twin Pack
To Serve
- 160 gNatural yoghurt
Chickpeas
- 3Garlic cloves
- 1 tspGround coriander
- 1.5 tspGround cumin
- 0.5 tspSmoked paprika
- 2 tinSummer Pride Chickpeas In Salted Water 380g
Couscous
- 300 gCouscous
Method
- 1Pat all the sea bass fillets very dry with kitchen paper, leave the lemon & pepper coating on, and season the plain fillets lightly with salt. Set aside skin-side up while you prep everything else.
- 2Boil a kettle. Put the couscous in a wide heatproof bowl with ½ tsp salt, 1 tbsp olive oil and the finely grated zest of 1 lemon. Pour over 360 ml boiling water, cover tightly with a plate, and leave 8–10 minutes.
- 3Drain and rinse both tins of chickpeas. Warm 2 tbsp olive oil in a large non-stick frying pan over medium heat, add the crushed garlic, ground cumin, ground coriander and smoked paprika, and stir 30–45 seconds until fragrant.
- 4Tip in the chickpeas with a pinch of salt and cook 4–5 minutes, tossing, until hot and lightly blistered at the edges. Squeeze in the juice of ½ lemon, tip into a bowl, and keep warm. Wipe the pan.
- 5Whisk the tahini, yoghurt, remaining crushed garlic clove, juice of ½ lemon, 2–3 tbsp cold water and a pinch of salt until smooth and pourable. Taste — it should be nutty, tangy and seasoned.
- 6Chop the little gem, radishes, baby plum tomatoes and most of the spring onions. Toss with most of the parsley and dill, 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, juice of ½ lemon and a pinch of salt. Leave at room temperature.
- 7Fluff the couscous with a fork. Fold through 1 tbsp olive oil, the remaining spring onions and a handful of the chopped herbs. Taste and adjust salt and lemon.
- 8Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in the non-stick pan over medium-high heat. Lay in half the fillets skin-side down and cook undisturbed 3–4 minutes until the skin is deep golden and crisp and the flesh is opaque two-thirds of the way up.
- 9Flip carefully and cook 1–2 minutes more until just opaque and a probe in the thickest part reads about 50–52°C. Rest on a warm plate; cook the remaining fillets the same way.
- 10Spoon herbed couscous and spiced chickpeas onto four plates. Add a generous tangle of the chopped salad, nestle the sea bass on top, and drizzle with tahini yoghurt. Finish with the last herbs and any remaining lemon wedges at the table; taste and adjust salt or lemon before serving.