Pan fried sea bass with squid

I am in Hong Kong at the moment, surrounded by thousands of Chinese restaurants, which serve amazing yet cheap dishes from different regions of China. I think I have only eaten-in once since I arrived a week ago... I am going to write a post about my favourite things in Hong Kong when I get back to London. So stay tuned!

As much as I love eating out, I do miss home cooked food after a while, just something nice and simple. It is always fun to try something new, adding a little twist to a classic combination. In this recipe, I am used squid to add an extra texture to the sauteed potatoes. You can get the fresh squid from the fishmongers or the frozen from Asian supermarkets.

Pan fried sea bass with spinach, chorizo, squid and sauteed potatoes

Serves 2

2 Sea bass fillets, descaled

3 Small squid, cut into small chunks (I used tentacles only, the rest went into fishcakes :P)

1 Thumb sized chorizo sausage, cut into small chunks

1 Medium sized potato, cut into small chunks

Handful of spinach

1 Red chili,cut into small pieces

1 Clove of garlic, cut into small pieces

4tbsp Olive oil

1 knob of butter

Salt and ground black pepper

Descale the sea bass fillets, pat them with kitchen towel, and leave them to dry at room temperature for 10mins. Do the same for the squid tentacles. Meanwhile, chop the chorizo and vegetables as required.

Heat 1tbsp olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat, cook the chroizo for a couple of minutes, followed by the squid and the chili. Fry them for around 30 seconds, or until the squid is just cooked. Remove from the pan and put to one side.

In the same pan, heat 2tbsp olive oil at high heat, brown the potatoes, then saute with medium heat until cooked. Add some butter to keep them going. Once done, add the chorizo and squid back to the pan, stir fry for a minute. Season with salt and pepper.

Season the fillets with salt and black pepper, rub them with a little olive oil, then dust them with cornflour. Heat 1tbsp olive oil in another frying pan over a high heat, carefully place the fillets skin side down, then cook for 2 minutes, or until the skin is crispy. Turn and cook the other side for further 2 minutes, When the fish is done, take them out and set aside. Heat 1tbsp in the same pan, cook the garlic and spinach over high heat, cook until the spinach is soft.

To serve, place a spoonful of the sauteed potatoes, squid and chorizo on one side of the plate. Try to get rid of the water released from the spinach using kitchen towel, then put them on the other side of the plate. Place the bass fillet on top of the spinach, season with salt and pepper if needed.

You can replace the bass with any white fish, or use octopus instead of squid. A perfect dish for a summer night!