ThePowerOfThePea - Sea Bass

I am a big veggie lover and have been doing my best to add more and more into our diet - mainly by replacing carbs, such as rice, potatoes and pasta, with alternatives such as cauliflower rice, quinoa and courgetti - and I've recently been inspired by the humble pea, thanks to Batchelors,

Peas are a full of good stuff. They contain bone-building vitamin K and manganese, they are packed with vitamin C to support your immune system and they're quite high in protein too, which helps to fill you up more than other vegetables tend too. 

Most little ones like them - Ethan insists on eating them one by one with his fingers!

And they're incredibly versatile too.

I was sent the following Mushy Pea Mash Up recipe and decided to give it a go myself at the weekend. 

Sea bass with creamed peas, bacon and spring onions

Serves 4

For the creamed peas:

·        200g Batchelors Marrowfat Peas

·        60g unsalted butter

·        1 small shallot, finely chopped

·        50g smoked bacon, chopped into ½cm dice

·        50ml vegetable stock

·        120ml double cream

·        Salt and black pepper

·        ½ bunch spring onions, finely sliced at an angle

·        A handful of pea shoots or little gem lettuce

For the fish:

·        Extra virgin olive oil for frying

·        4 x 180g sea bass fillets, skinned

·        Salt and black pepper

·        1 lemon

Method:

* Bring a saucepan of salted water to the boil, add the peas and 20g butter and cook for 5 to 6 minutes until tender (they may take more or less time, depending on size and freshness). Drain in a colander.

* Meanwhile, in a larger saucepan, melt 20g butter and gently soften the shallot with the bacon, without allowing them to colour. Add the vegetable stock and simmer until reduced by three quarters.

* Add the cream, season with freshly ground black pepper and simmer until reduced by half. Add the peas, spring onions and pea shoots or lettuce and continue to simmer until the sauce is just thick enough to coat the peas. Add the remaining butter and season if necessary. Set aside and keep warm.

* Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a non-stick frying pan. Season the sea bass and gently cook for 5 minutes. Turnover and cook for a further 4 minutes.

* To serve, arrange the sea bass on a dish, drizzle with olive oil and garnish with lemon wedges. Place the creamed peas, bacon and spring onions into a separate dish and serve with the fish, or you can serve individually with the sea bass resting on a bed of the peas.

***

Here's how my dish came together - I served with courgetti and butternut squash noodles, although new potatoes would be great too:

As with most recipes, I improvised quite a bit, but have to say this makes for a tasty dish - so much so, Ethan started begging for more off my plate!

You can also check out my pea guacamole recipe or the Batchelors website for more pea related meal ideas.