Delicate, sweet, fragrant asparagus is only in season for a few weeks of the year so when you see it, grab it – particularly if it’s locally grown. Here, I’m pairing it with something equally delicate, a beautiful seafood medley. Now, you will need to visit your fishmonger for this little mix, but for a treat, it’s worth it. Growing up, we often had mixed fish grill on the menu in my parents’ pub, and this is my homage to that. Happy memories.
Ingredients
1 red mullet fillet, scaled, pin-boned, from sustainable sources
4 raw king scallops, coral attached, trimmed and cleaned, from sustainable sources
1 squid, gutted, cleaned, from sustainable sources
1 sea bass fillet, scaled, pin-boned, from sustainable sources
1 small handful of fennel tops
250g asparagus
2 rashers of higher-welfare smoked streaky bacon
½ a lemon
extra virgin olive oil
1-2 fresh red chillies
½ a bunch of thyme (15g), lemon thyme if you can get it
olive oil
Method
- Start by prepping the seafood. Score the skin of the red mullet at ½cm intervals, then cut in half. Score the scallops in a crisscross fashion at 1cm intervals, going about halfway through each one. Slice into each squid and open it out like a book, lightly score on the inside with an eating knife in a criss-cross fashion at ½cm intervals, remove and cut up the tentacles. Score the skin of the sea bass fillet at 1cm intervals, going halfway through, season with sea salt and stuff the scores with the fennel tops.
- Snap the woody ends off the asparagus. On a board, run the side of your knife along each rasher of bacon to flatten it out, then cut each piece in half and use them to wrap 4 asparagus spears.
- To make a dressing, squeeze the lemon juice into a bowl, add twice as much extra virgin olive oil and season with sea salt. Halve the chillies lengthways and deseed, then finely chop and add to the bowl. Pick in the delicate thyme tips and mix well.
- Put a large non-stick frying pan on a medium-high heat and, once hot, add 1 tablespoon of olive oil, followed by the sea bass, skin-side down. Nestle the bacon-wrapped asparagus alongside, followed by the red mullet, scallops and squid, then pick in the remaining thyme.
- Cook until everything is golden and just cooked through, turning halfway, and moving the wrapped asparagus on top of the fish once it’s cooked. Sprinkle in the remaining asparagus spears to cook through for the last couple of minutes, along with a couple of spoonfuls of dressing.
- Spend a moment dividing it all up between two plates, slicing the squid, then serve with extra dressing, to taste. Delicious with new potatoes and a seasonal salad.
