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Pan Fried Bream with Ratatouille and Coulis Recipe

Serves/Makes: 2

Ingredients:

• 2 sea bream fillets (about 6 ounces each), boned
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
  
  Ratatouille
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 sprig thyme, chopped
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 red pepper, de-seeded and diced
• 1/2 aubergine, diced
• 1 courgette, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon tomato purée
• 2 plum tomatoes, diced
  
  Tomato Coulis
• 8 ounces very ripe cherry tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar

How to cook:

• For the ratatouille, sweat the onion and thyme in the oil for 4 minutes without colouring. Add the pepper, aubergine, courgette and garlic. Sweat for 2 minutes. Add the tomato purée, diced tomato and 1/2 cup water. Season. Bring to a simmer, cover. Cook for 15-20 minutes, until the vegetables are tender. Check seasoning.
• For the coulis, purée the tomatoes, olive oil and sugar in a blender. Season, then pass through a fine sieve and reserve.
• Season the bream. Heat the oil in a non-stick pan and fry the sea bream fillets, skin-side up, for 1 minute. Flip and fry for a further 2-3 minutes until the skin is crisp and the fish cooked. Season with lemon juice. Reheat the ratatouille if necessary and spoon onto 2 plates. Top with the fried sea bream fillets, spoon around the coulis and drizzle with olive oil.

Notes:

Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Total time: 35 minutes

Comments:

The word Ratatouille comes from "touiller," which means to toss food. Ratatouille originated in the area around present day Nice. It was originally a poor farmer's dish, prepared in the summer with fresh summer vegetables. The original Ratatouille Niçoise used only courgettes (zucchini), tomatoes, green and red peppers (bell peppers), onion, and garlic. The dish known today as ratatouille adds aubergine (eggplant) to that mixture.
French ratatouille is usually served as a side dish, but also may be served as a meal on its own (accompanied by rice, or simple French bread). Tomatoes are a key ingredient, with garlic, onions, zucchini (courgettes), aubergine (eggplant), bell peppers (poivron), some herbes de Provence. All the ingredients are sautéed lightly in olive oil.

A Coulis (French, from Old French couleis) is a form of thick sauce made from puréed and strained vegetables or fruits. A vegetable Coulis is commonly used on meat, fish and vegetable dishes, and it can also be used as a base for soups or other sauces.

This recipe for Pan Fried Bream with Ratatouille and Coulis serves/makes: 2

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Main Ingredient: Bream
Preparation Method: Pan Fried/Sauteed
Cuisine: French

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