Courgette and Basil Salad with Sea Bass

This is wonderfully simple, springy food. Intensely aromatic basil and smoky grilled courgette combined with flakes of lightly cooked fish is a special thing. Bass is a fantastic accompaniment but can be substituted with other fish - Salmon, Mackerel or Cod would work a treat. 

Serves 4

4 Courgettes
5 Tbsp Olive Oil
Pinch chilli flakes
1 tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
Generous bunch Basil
1 Clove Garlic
100g blanched Hazelnuts (almonds or pine nuts could also be used)
100g Parmesan (finely sliced with a potato peeler)
Salt and pepper

2 Fillets Sea Bass
Salt and Pepper
1/2 Lemon

Preheat the oven to 200C. Lay out the hazelnuts/ almonds or pine nuts out on a roasting pan and roast until golden brown and shiny - about 5-10 mins. Leave to cool and roughly chop.

Cut the Courgettes on a diagonal into 1/2 cm slices. Toss with a couple of tablespoons of Olive Oil, chilli flakes and some salt and pepper. Preheat a ridged griddle pan until smoking and lay out the slices onto the pan. Do not move around as you want clear lines from the griddle to show on the courgette. Turn over and cook on the other side for a further few minutes. They should be firm and slightly al dente with visible lines from the griddle pan seared across them. Set aside to cool.

Chop up 1/2 of the Basil finely and mix with the remaining olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper and crushed clove of garlic. Set aside.

Toss the courgette slices with half of the basil and balsamic dressing. Layer up the salad with the remaining basil leaves, hazelnuts, parmesan and courgette slices.

Score the skin of the sea bass fillets and season on both sides. Heat a non stick pan with a little olive oil, and once hot, place the bass in the pan, skin side down. Cook on a medium - high heat for about 3 minutes without moving. Once the flesh starts to look lose its translucency, flip over and cook for a further minute on the other side. It should be just cooked through, with a crispy skin. Squeeze some lemon over the flesh (not the skin), drizzle over the remaining basil and balsamic dressing and serve with the courgette salad.