Two grilled sea bream on a bed of roasted pepper and tomato sauce in a large pan

Fish & Seafood

Grilled Sea Bream on Pepper and Tomato Sauce

Whole sea bream with crisp, grill-marked skin, finished on a bed of slowly cooked sweet peppers and tomatoes. One pan, big flavour, and it looks great on the table.

Serves
4
Temperature
220°C
Time
75 mins

Ingredients

The fish
2 whole sea bream (dorade), 600–700 g each, scaled and gutted
2 tbsp olive oil
Salt
1 lemon, sliced
4 sprigs thyme

Pepper and tomato sauce
3 red bell peppers
1 yellow bell pepper
2 long green pointed peppers
1 onion, thinly sliced
4 garlic cloves, sliced
3 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 tsp smoked paprika
100 ml dry white wine
400 g ripe tomatoes, chopped
250 g cherry tomatoes
3 sprigs thyme
Salt, pepper and a pinch of sugar

To finish
Fresh basil
Extra virgin olive oil
Crusty bread, to serve

Char the peppers. Set up The Bastard for direct cooking at 220°C. Grill the bell peppers and the pointed pepper whole until the skin is blistered and blackened in places. Place them in a bowl, cover and let steam for 10 minutes, then peel, deseed and cut into strips.

Build the sauce. Place a wide pan on the grate. Heat the olive oil and sweat the onion and garlic for 5 minutes without colour. Stir in the tomato paste and smoked paprika and cook for 1 minute. Deglaze with the white wine and let it reduce by half.

Simmer. Add the chopped tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, pepper strips and thyme. Simmer with the lid off for 25 minutes until thick and glossy. Season with salt, pepper and a pinch of sugar if the tomatoes are sharp.

Prep the fish. Pat the bream dry. Score the skin 3 times on each side, rub with olive oil and season inside and out with salt. Stuff the cavities with the lemon slices and thyme.

Grill the fish. Clean and oil the grate. Grill the bream directly over the heat for 4–5 minutes per side, until the skin is crisp and nicely marked. Do not move them until they release easily.

Finish together. Lay the bream on top of the pepper and tomato sauce in the pan, close the lid and cook indirectly for 8–10 minutes, until the flesh is opaque and reaches 58–62°C at the thickest part.

Serve. Scatter with basil and a drizzle of olive oil and bring the whole pan to the table. Serve with crusty bread.