We spent a sun-filled afternoon at home with chef, sailor and grower Gill Meller. Gill prepared cured sea bass alongside wood-fired flatbreads, Jack made the drinks and paired the dish with a Pentire Adrift Martini.
Lightly Cured Sea Bass with Lemon, Capers & Fennel
Serves 4
100g sea salt
50g unrefined sugar
4–6 thyme sprigs, leaves picked
2 bay leaves, cut into ribbons
1 teaspoon coarsely crushed black pepper, plus extra to serve
400 – 500g of wild sea bass or black bream fillet, pin-boned and skinned
1 small garlic clove very thinly sliced
juice and zest of half a lemon
1 Tbls of small capers
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
A small handful of fennel tops chopped
A small handful of chives finely chopped
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Combine the salt, sugar, thyme leaves, ribboned bay leaf and black pepper together in a small bowl. Lay the fish fillets down on a plate and scatter over the cure. Make sure you get a little underneath the fish, too. Leave it in the salt for about 1 hour.
Gently rinse away the cure by dipping the fish in a bowl of fresh, cold water. Don’t worry if some thyme leaves and pepper cling to the fish, that’s all flavour to savour. Pat the fish dry with some kitchen paper, then lay it on a board, skin-side down.
Use a sharp knife to cut 1cm slices, at a slight angle, from across the fillet. Place the prepared fish in a bowl. Add the thinly sliced garlic, lemon zest and juice, extra-virgin olive oil, capers and chopped herbs. Very gently combine everything together.
Leave the fish to stand for at least 10 –15 minutes. Carefully turn everything again, then lift it out from the bowl and arrange it over a large platter or plate. Season with a dash more black pepper and a scant sprinkling of flaky sea salt. Serve with good bread.
Herb Flatbreads
Makes 6
500g strong white bread flour, plus extra for dusting
1 teaspoon sea salt, plus extra for sprinkling
1 teaspoon quick dried yeast
2 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil,
plus extra for trickling
1 tablespoon of fennel seeds
2 teaspoon of chipotle chilli
a small handful of parsley leaves chopped
325g luke warm water
a small handful of finely chopped chives
extra virgin olive oil
flaky sea salt
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To make the flatbreads, place the flour, salt and yeast in a bowl and add the fennel seed, chilli and chopped parsley. Pour in the water and the extra-virgin olive oil. Mix everything thoroughly until it forms a dough. Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead it for about 10 minutes, until soft and smooth. Shape the dough into a rough round and place in a lightly oiled bowl. Cover with a clean cloth and leave the dough to rise in a warm place. You can make the dough the day before you need it and put it in the fridge.
Turn out the dough on to a lightly Floured surface, then cut it into 6 equal pieces. Form each piece into a nice, neat round and leave the rounds to rest for 20 minutes or so. When you’re ready to cook the flat breads, shape each piece of dough into a thin round – you can do this by hand, or with a rolling pin, if you like. Don’t worry if they’re not especially round – that doesn’t matter.
Launch the flatbreads into a very hot oven and cook for 1 – 2 minutes or until puffed up and blistered. Trickle the hot breads with olive oil and the thinly sliced chives. Finish with a sprinkle of flaky sea salt before serving.
Serve the warm breads with the cured fish, or better still, arrange the sliced cured fish over the bread and bring to the table that way.
Gill drinks a Pentire Adrift Martini, served over ice with an olive garnish. Find the recipe here.
Discover Pentire Adrift.
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Recipes by Gill Meller
Photography by Ben Pryor.
Film by Matt Austin.