Pan-fried sea bream with crispy skin on a warm salsa of cherry tomatoes, olives, coriander (cilantro) and basil. Ramsay says in the Ultimate Cookery Course that this works with any white fish, “from sea bream to sea bass or even cod.” Serves 2 in about 15 minutes.
He has three sea bream recipes across his books, but this UCC version is the simplest because the salsa barely needs cooking. The saffron version from Great British Pub Food and the salt-crusted whole bream from his YouTube video are both in the FAQs below.
Scoring the skin before it hits the pan is what stops the fillets curling. Two or three slashes let the heat through evenly, so the skin crisps flat rather than buckling at the edges.
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Gordon Ramsay’s Sea Bream with Tomato and Herb Salsa
Course: Dinner, MainCuisine: British, MediterraneanDifficulty: Easy2
servings5
minutes10
minutes380
kcal15 minutes
Pan-fried sea bream from the Ultimate Cookery Course with a warm salsa of cherry tomatoes, olives, coriander and basil. Two fillets, fifteen minutes, no oven needed.
Ingredients
- For the tomato and herb salsa:
3 tbsp olive oil
200g (7 oz) cherry tomatoes, halved
60g (2 oz) pitted black olives (Kalamata), drained
Small bunch of coriander (cilantro)
Small bunch of basil
Juice of ½ lemon
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- For the sea bream:
2 sea bream fillets, about 150g (5 oz) each, pin-boned
Olive oil, for frying
Directions
- Make the salsa: Heat 3 tbsp olive oil gently in a small saucepan. Add the halved cherry tomatoes and olives, season and stir over low heat for 1-2 minutes until just warmed through.
- Add the herbs: Roll the coriander (cilantro) and basil leaves into a ball and slice finely. Stir most of the herbs into the salsa with the lemon juice, keeping a pinch back for garnish.
- Score and fry the bream: Slash the skin of each fillet 2-3 times. Heat a heavy pan over high heat with a dash of oil. Lay the fillets skin side down and cook for 2-3 minutes until the skin is dark golden and crisp.
- Finish: Flip and cook for 1 minute on the flesh side, basting with the oil. The flesh should be opaque two-thirds of the way up before you turn it.
- Serve: Spoon the salsa onto plates and sit the bream on top, skin side up. Scatter the reserved herbs over.
Notes
- Ramsay says the salsa is “effectively a warm vinaigrette, so don’t heat it too vigorously.” The idea is to encourage the flavours to mingle, not to cook the tomatoes down. Sea bass, cod or any firm white fish works in place of the bream.
FAQs
What does the saffron-marinated version taste like?
The Pub Food version marinates fillets in saffron and olive oil for 20 minutes before frying. That turns the skin golden and adds a floral warmth. It sits on sweet and sour peppers made with sugar and red wine vinegar.
The saffron version is richer because the peppers caramelise in the pan. Ramsay shows the method in his F Word saffron bream video, where he says scoring the skin lets the saffron oil seep into the flesh.
How do you salt-bake a whole sea bream?
Ramsay wraps the whole fish in a thick salt crust and bakes it, then cracks the crust open at the table. The salt seals in moisture so the flesh steams inside its own shell. He serves it with braised leeks and hazelnuts.
This needs a whole fish, so ask the fishmonger to gut and scale it but leave it intact. The bouillabaisse from The F Word also uses whole pieces. It is another way to cook bream with bones in for extra flavour.
What is the difference between sea bream and sea bass?
Sea bream has a sweeter, more delicate flavour than sea bass, with thinner skin that crisps faster in the pan. Ramsay says in the UCC that this recipe works with both because the method is the same: high heat, skin side down, 2-3 minutes.
Sea bass fillets are thicker, so they need an extra minute before flipping. The Chilean sea bass uses miso and bakes in a parcel, which is a completely different approach if you want something richer.
How do you get the skin crispy?
Score the skin so it does not curl, then start with a screaming hot pan so it sears on contact. Press gently with a fish slice for the first 30 seconds to keep it flat. The potato-crusted halibut uses the same high-heat method.
Ramsay says to cook two-thirds on the skin side and flip for just the last minute. If the skin is not golden when you peek underneath, it is not ready to turn.
What side dishes work with sea bream?
The warm salsa is the side built into the recipe. A tomato and watercress salad from the same book works alongside because the acidity matches without repeating the same flavours.
The red mullet with sweet chilli uses the same pan-frying technique with a different sauce, so both fish work together on a seafood spread. New potatoes or crusty bread are all you need to mop up the vinaigrette.
