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Sea Bream with Crispy Skin, Crushed Potatoes & Lemon Butter

Crispy skin sea bream served with crushed new potatoes samphire and caper

By Tom · Updated

Jump to recipe
  • Serves 2
  • About 35 min
  • Easy

A simple sea bream recipe with beautifully crisp skin, served with buttery crushed potatoes, fresh samphire, capers and a bright lemon butter sauce. A straightforward dish that makes the most of a few good ingredients.

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The recipe

Sea Bream with Crispy Skin, Crushed Potatoes & Lemon Butter

Crispy-skinned sea bream served with buttery crushed potatoes, samphire, capers and a lemon butter.

  • Serves 2
  • 10 min prep
  • 25 min cooking
  • Easy

Times and difficulty are our estimates from the method, not stopwatch figures.

Scale
2 servings
Measurements

Ingredients

Potatoes

Fish

Sauce

Tick things off as you go — they stay ticked if you close the page.

A dotted underline means the amount has been rounded to something you can measure.

Method

  1. Step 1

    Place the potatoes (500 g) into a pan of cold, salted water. Bring to the boil and cook for 20 minutes, or until completely tender. Drain, then crush the potatoes and stir through the butter (25 g) and chopped parsley (15 g). Season with salt and black pepper.

  2. Step 2

    Pat the sea bream fillets (2 fillets) dry with kitchen paper. This helps the skin become crisp. Place a frying pan over medium-high heat and add the olive oil (20 ml).

  3. Step 3

    Place the fish into the pan skin-side down, holding it flat with a spatula for around 20 seconds. This helps prevent the fillets (2 fillets) from curling and keeps the skin in contact with the pan. Cook for 3-4 minutes, or until the fish is around 80% cooked through.

  4. Step 4

    Turn the fillets (2 fillets) over, add the butter (25 g) and baste the fish for around 30 seconds. Remove from the pan and set aside.

  5. Step 5

    For the sauce, add the butter (25 g) to the same pan, followed by the capers (20 g) and samphire (60 g). Cook for around 30 seconds, then add the lemon zest and juice. Swirl the pan until the butter becomes glossy. Taste and season with salt and black pepper if needed.

  6. Step 6

    Serve the crushed potatoes (500 g) with the sea bream skin-side up. Spoon the lemon, caper (20 g) and samphire (60 g) butter (25 g) around the plate and serve immediately.

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Questions people ask

How long does sea bream with crispy skin, crushed potatoes & lemon butter take?

About 35 min from start to finish, of which 10 min is prep and 25 min is cooking. That figure is worked out from the method rather than timed with a stopwatch, so give yourself a little more the first time.

How many does it serve, and can I change that?

As written it serves 2. Use the scale control on the recipe card to change it: every quantity in the ingredients and inside the method steps updates with it. Seasoning, and anything measured in pinches or splashes, is deliberately left alone.

Can I see the ingredients in ounces and pints?

Yes. The metric and imperial switch on the recipe card converts every quantity, rounded to amounts you can actually weigh or measure rather than to four decimal places. Your choice is remembered for every recipe on the site.