Sea bream with butternut squash | Lawrence Murphy

I really like the texture and flavour of this vegetable and I usually get at least two meals from one squash.

You can scoop out the seeds and roast them with a little olive oil and sea salt to have as a snack or to use as a garnish for a salad or soup.

The fleshy bulb that remains can easily be turned into a velvety soup (try with added chilli, coriander, and coconut milk) or puree, roasted for a salad or pan fried as in the following recipe.

It’s a simple, quick dish with some strong flavours of rosemary and black olive which work well with the slightly oily sea bream.

Serve with a green salad and think about those Mediterranean holidays that we are all looking forward too.

Ingredients – serves 2

2 sea bream fillets

Bulb end of a butternut squash, peeled and cubed

1 onion, finely diced

Clove garlic, finely chopped

12 black olives, chopped

Tsp chopped fresh rosemary

100ml white wine

Juice half lemon

Olive oil

Sea salt

Method

1. Heat a frying pan over a medium heat and add a splash of olive oil.

2. Gently cook the squash for 4 mins, stirring occasionally.

3. Add the onion and garlic and cook for a further 4 mins.

4. Now add the rosemary, olives, and white wine. Set on a very low heat while you cook the bream.

5. Cook the bream in a separate pan on a medium high heat, skin side down first, for about 7 mins.

6. As the white flesh of the fish starts to become translucent turn the fish over and continue to cook for another 4 mins.

7. Add a little sea salt to the skin side of the fish.

8. Stir in the lemon juice to the squash mixture. Taste and season if necessary.

9. Put the squash onto 2 plates and top with the cooked fish to serve.