Monica Galleti's tips on how to fillet a round fish

For those scaling back on meat, a beat of fin-dining can do wonders

Friday 01 September 2017 10:11 EDT

Put it to the test: seabass ceviche recipe below

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When you’re buying your whole fish, check that the eyes are clear and gills are a bright red colour and that there is no “fishy” smell. (There should be little smell at all.) And the flesh should be firm when you touch it, not too soft.

1. Your fishmonger can gut the fish for you, otherwise, cut a slit from the hole in the stomach along the belly and remove the innards. Rinse and pat dry. Cut off the fins

2. Use a fish scaler or the back of a knife to descale the fish: hold the tail and scrape the scales off from tail to head. This will be messy!

3. Use a sharp filleting knife to cut through the fish just below the gills until you reach the bone

4. Make an incision from the top of the backbone all the way to the tail

5. Open the incision and run the knife against the bones of the fish to start to separate the fillet from the rest of the fish. Keep the knife as close as possible to the bones so as not to waste any of the fillet

6. Repeat Steps 3 to 5 on the other side of the fish

7. You should now have two neat fish fillets. Use a pair of fish tweezers to pluck out any pin bones along the length of the fillets. Rinse the fillets and pat them dry before using

Sea bass ceviche, orange and pomegranate

Serves 6

2 sea bass, 500g each
Olive oil, for brushing
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Dressing

30ml light soy sauce
1 tbsp honey
Grated zest and juice of 1 blood orange
Grated zest and juice of 1 lime
1 tsp fennel seeds, toasted and ground
50ml extra virgin olive oil

To finish

1 blood orange, peeled, segmented and cut into small pieces
50g fresh pomegranate seeds
Fennel pollen

Preheat the oven to 160C. Remove the skin from the prepared sea bass fillets and set aside. Thinly slice the fillets, cover and set aside in the fridge. Pick the fronds of the fennel bulb and set aside in a bowl of iced water. Line a baking tray with baking parchment and brush with some olive oil. Season the fish skin with salt and lay on the parchment. Top with another piece of parchment and another baking tray, sandwiching the skin in between. Bake for about 15 minutes, until crispy. Remove to a plate lined with kitchen paper and set aside.

For the dressing, whisk together the soy sauce, honey, orange zest and juice, the lime zest and juice, ground fennel seeds and olive oil. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Break the crispy fish skin into pieces. Gently mix the sea bass slices with the dressing, then spread the fish out on a plate. Sprinkle the fish with the pieces of blood orange, the pomegranate seeds, crispy fish skin and some fennel pollen.

‘The Skills: How to become an expert chef in your own kitchen’ by Monica Galetti (Quadrille, £20) Photography © Cristian Barnett

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