Sea bream is a lean flavorful fish, also known by its French name daurade or dorade (orata in Italian). It is often served in restaurants in the south of France, so here I paired it with ratatouille from that same region. Ratatouille is a vegetable dish using eggplant, zucchini, tomatoes and sometimes also bell peppers that is usually simmered until it is very soft. In this case, I prepared a crunchy version by cooking the vegetables only briefly and cutting them in such a way that each piece has a bit of skin. I always like to extract all the flavor from ingredients. In this case I used the head and bones of the sea bream to make fish stock, which I then used to cook the rice as well as to add depth of flavor to the ratatouille. To top it all off, I cooked the sea bream sous-vide first so it would be tender and juicy, and then crisped up the skin over high heat. This is one of those dishes that takes a while to prepare, but it is worth it as it was delicious and not to mention very nutritious with all those vegetables, brown rice, and lean fish. Here is what I did…
Ingredients
For 2 servings
1 sea bream, filleted, head and bones reserved, about 500 grams (1.1 lb)
1 eggplant (aubergine), 1 zucchini (courgette), and 1 red bell pepper (capsicum)
80 ml (1/3 cup) sieved tomatoes (tomato puree/passata, but not tomato paste)
1 unwaxed lemon
1 Tbsp fresh thyme leaves + some additional sprigs of fresh thyme
1 carrot, 1 celery stalk, and 1 onion, all chopped
3 black pepper corns
1 shallot, minced
2 garlic cloves
1 bay leaf
extra virgin olive oil
flour for dusting
salt and freshly ground black pepper
130 grams (2/3 cup) brown rice
Preparation
If your fish monger hasn’t already done so, start by pin boning the fish fillets. Feel with your finger along the center of the fillet where the spine of the fish used to be. Extract any bones you encounter using your fingers or a pair of tweezers.
After that, season the fillets with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Sprinkle with a bit of grated lemon zest and rub with a bit of extra virgin olive oil.
Vacuum seal the fish fillets and allow to marinate in the refrigerator until you are ready to cook them.
Remove the eyes and gills from the fish head. Soak the fish head and bones in cold water to remove any traces of blood. Then put the head and bones in a saucepan and cover with cold water, about 1 litre (4 cups).
Bring the water to a boil. Remove any scum that will rise to the surface with a slotted spoon.
Once you’ve removed the scum, add a chopped carrot, a chopped celery stalk, a chopped onion, some fresh thyme sprigs, 3 black peppercorns, and a bay leaf.
Simmer for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, cut the zucchini in half lengthwise and scoop out the pulp with a spoon.
Add the pulp to the stock. Cut the zucchini into pieces of about 1 cm (1/2 inch) such that each piece has a bit of skin.
Do the same with an eggplant by first cutting it into slices and into 8 wedges…
…and then removing the center part of each wedge. Add those to the stock as well.
Clean the bell pepper and cut it into pieces of a similar size as the zucchini and eggplant.
Cook the eggplant pieces in a frying pan with olive oil over high heat…
…until they are golden.
Transfer them to some kitchen paper to drain, and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Do the same with the bell pepper…
…and the zucchini.
After half an hour of simmering, strain the fish stock using a fine sieve.
For the rice, heat two tablespoons of olive oil in a saucepan. When the oil is hot, add a minced shallot and cook until soft and fragrant.
Now add a minced clove of garlic, and stir briefly. Make sure the garlic doesn’t brown.
Add 130 grams (2/3 cup) of brown rice.
Stir over medium heat until the rice is covered with the oil.
Add 500 ml (2 cups) of the fish stock to the rice.
Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer over low heat for 25 minutes.
After 25 minutes the rice should be cooked and the moisture should be absorbed. You may have to adjust the amount of stock and the cooking time based on package instructions. Taste and adjust the seasoning of the rice with salt.
Meanwhile, reduce the remaining fish stock…
…until it is thick.
To finish the ratatouille, heat two tablespoons of olive oil in a frying pan. Tilt the pan and cook a whole garlic clove in the oil until it is golden but now brown, then discard the garlic.
Add 80 ml (1/3 cup) of sieved tomatoes to the garlic-flavored oil.
Stir for a minute over medium heat.
Add the reduced fish stock.
Stir to incorporate. Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Add the reserved eggplant, zucchini, and bell pepper to the tomato sauce. Add a tablespoon of fresh thyme leaves as well.
Stir over low heat until the vegetables are coated with the tomato sauce and have been warmed through.
Cook the fish sous-vide for 10 minutes at 50C/122F. Then take it out of the bag and pat dry with paper towels.
Dust the skin side with flour.
Prepare plates with rice and vegetables so you will be able to serve the fish immediately once you have crisped up the skin. Arrange the rice…
…and the vegetables on preheated plates.
Heat olive oil in a non-stick frying pan over high heat. Add the fish fillets with the skin side down and cook over high heat until the skin is crispy, about 1 minute.
Serve the fish with the rice and vegetables and a slice of lemon. If you like, you can sprinkle with thyme leaves for color (which I forgot).
Flashback
It’s always great when I try recipes from blogs that they follow that turn out very well, like these cranberry hazelnut cookies by Mimi. In fact, this flashback reminds me I should bake them again myself!
Stefan's Gourmet Blog 
Carissimo Stefan, sei proprio da master chef 🙂 Il tuo ratatouille sembra un po’ la mia caponatina e l’orata è uno di quei pesci che si trovano spesso tra i fornelli di Bea. Bellissima presentazione. Very, very good 🙂
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It must be delicious. Thank you 🙂
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What a wonderful meal! I never had sea bream until I went to Scotland. Didn’t know it’s the same as dorade. I really love the crunchy ratatouille!
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There are two types: grey and pink (sometimes also referred to as golden or royal). The grey ones are often farmed.
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What a beautiful presentation.
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I love this Stefan. Not just because we sous vide and like fish but, because we always enjoy some Royal Dourad when we visit the south of France. Looking forward to being there again later in the year.
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Ma tu non hai proprio pietà di noi! 😉 Bravissimo!
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One of my favorite recipes to date! This looks amazing! Lovely flavors, colorful vegetables and perfectly cooked (and completely utililized) fish. I need to send you some operating room tweezers- they are the best. Have you tried quinoa? It is nutty with nice texture and would pair well with the skate and ratatouille-inspired vegetables!
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Thanks, Shanna. I have quinoa as part of salads for lunch at work and noticed the nice flavor and texture. I haven’t prepared it myself yet as apparently the popularity of quinoa in developed countries has made it too expensive for the people in South America whose staple it used to be.
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Stefan, I have had to work A LOT to get the preparation of quinoa right four our family. I generally saute the grains, cook in stock and also let it steam after to fully cook but retain crunch. And it all depends on altitude, humidity, etc. If anyone can make the perfect quinoa, it’s you for sure! 🙂 Yes, it is a gift from South American (a great continent with wonderful geography and food! Need a house there!).
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That sounds a bit like risotto. From the sources I’ve been reading to answer your question, it looks like production will be increasing and therefore prices falling, so I may start buying more quinoa after all.
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Have you tried other ancient grains that are locally sourced/socially responsible ? There are lots. 🙂 http://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/03/18/dining/ancient-grains-are-new-again.html?referer=
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I haven’t heard about quinoa shortages in developing countries- is there anything you could share. How awful.
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It isn’t exactly a shortage but more a price increase — which can be a huge problem if you only have a few dollars per day to feed your family. Look at this graph: http://spendmatters.com/2015/04/27/quinoa-prices-fall-finally-due-to-rise-in-production/
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And here is another source: http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/features/the-food-fad-thats-starving-bolivia-2248932.html
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What a gorgeous dish and presentation, Stefan.
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A beautiful presentation of this dish Stefan!! Great post! I very much like Sea Bream… it won’t surprise you that it was called by it’s Italian name (as you mentioned above) ‘Orata’ in Malta.
Great choices for ‘sides’ – I’m esp. in love with your Crunchy Ratatouille.
I hope you’re enjoying spring in your part of the world!! ; o )
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I’m just from enjoying spring in Miami Beach and the Keys. Here it is cold, but sunny!
Hope you are well.
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How about THAT my friend!! I was there two winters ago. And met friends from Malta who were visiting one of their friends in Miami Beach. I really enjoyed it!! I’m sure you had a great time. Don’t you just LOVE The Keys – I haven’t been there in a while but plan to go back in the not-too-distant-future. How long did it take you to fly all the way there???
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The flight from Amsterdam to Miami took 9 hours, and 8 hours vice versa. The Keys are wonderful. We had been there before, but this was the first time we paid so much attention and made so many stops on the Overseas Highway.
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I’m so glad you had such a great holiday!! I hope to get back to The Keys soon myself. (
It used to take us, a totalled, 18 hours to get from Boston back to Malta.. due to a six-hour layover in London. And that isn’t counting the time driving from here in Western Massachusetts to Boston, which is on the coast. What was your favorite part of your trip? Did you get any ideas for new recipes??
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Not sure if there was a part I liked best. Perhaps the beaches with palm trees while sipping on a nice glass of white wine (which we weren’t supposed to be doing)?
Most of the food we had was pretty standard, but I did get the idea to prepare fish with a crab rust that I will be sharing on the blog.
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I can totally understand how the food was, for the most part, pretty standard. Did you try Conch Fritters by any chance?
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Yes, but I’ve had better before on Key West. We’ve also had lots of Key Lime Pie! 🙂
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Oh Yeah – Key Lime Pie! I haven’t had that in years… what’s wrong with me?! I’ve gotta get some next time I’m in Florida AND it won’t take me nine hours to get there!! ; o ) (Stefan – I think you are One Cool Dude!!)
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Haha, thanks Cecile. You could of course make your own (Key) Lime Pie 🙂
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Good point my friend!! ; o )
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You should see my smile! Absolutely beautiful and appetizing on the plate . . . I won’t use the ‘h’ word, promise 🙂 ! Just made a big pot of ratatouille yesterday . . . alternate it with making caponata. Actually, eating mostly Asian these two are amongst my most oft made European dishes . . . thanks again!!
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thank you for the recipe – this is one fish that I hadn’t the slightest idea how to prepare!
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This sounds wonderful, Stefan, and love that you kept it authentic, pairing the bream with ratatouille. Great idea, too, to make a stock from the fish bones and use that to flavor the other parts of the dish. Why let all that flavor go to the bin when you can make a stock with it? I don’t recall seeing bream in any of the fishmongers I frequent, although I have seen it on menus around town. I should ask to see if they ever get it and I’m just missing it. Hmmm … 🙂
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You are ambitious and adventurous. I really like the plating on your finished dish.
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Reblogged this on Chef Ceaser.
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