Quick-pickled sea bass escabeche with peppers, fennel and onion

Method

1. Deseed and slice the pepper into ½cm strips. Slice the onion and fennel to the same width and finely slice the carrot into 1mm rounds.
2. Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in a pan and gently sauté the pepper, onion, fennel, carrot, garlic, thyme, bay and peppercorns until soft but not coloured. Remove from the pan and spread the mixture out in a deep serving dish, large enough to hold the four sea bass fillets.
3. Add the remaining olive oil to a large, non-stick frying pan over a medium heat. Salt the skin of the sea bass fillets and place them skin-side down in the pan. Cook for 1–2 minutes until the skin is crisp and golden. Once 80% cooked through, flip over the fillets and remove the pan from the heat.
4. Pour the Mediterranean vinegar blend into the serving dish and place the sea bass fillets on the escabeche, skin-side up. The fillets should be partially submerged in the vinegar but the skin should not be – this will keep it crisp.
5. Leave to pickle for 15 minutes. Remove the bay leaf and thyme sprig and serve warm with crusty bread.