This is one of the ways of cooking bream that I’ll never tire of. I love the filleting, the cooking – with all the lemony herb smell – and the eating.

All moist and sour and sweet and hot, with a little olive oily thing going on, this is my kind of heaven.
In fact I’d die happy if fry-poached bream fillets were my last supper.

What you'll need:

3 tbsp olive oil
Small knob of butter
1 large black bream, descaled, filleted and pin-boned
1 garlic clove, peeled and chopped
Juice of 1 small or ½ large lemon
1 tbsp mixed chopped ‘soft’ herbs, such as parsley, chervil, chives, basil and/or mint
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Serves 2:

Heat 1 tbsp oil and the butter in a pan over a medium heat.

When the butter is sizzling gently, season the bream fillets well and add them to the pan, flesh side down.

Cook for about 2 minutes until starting to brown underneath.

Scatter the garlic over and around the fish, then carefully flip the fillets over.

Add the lemon juice and the remaining 2 tbsp oil. Increase the heat a little and cook for about 2 minutes more, until the fish is cooked through and the juices have reduced a little.

Remove from the heat. Transfer the fillets to warmed plates.

Scatter the chopped herbs in the pan and stir them into the juices, then spoon the herby juices over the fish and serve. 

• By Nick Fisher, author of the River Cottage Sea Fishing Handbook - available signed by the author in the River Cottage online shop.