Bass and Fennel Salad

• Slice the fennel as thin as thin as you can, cover it with ice cold water and a squeeze of lemon and pop it in the fridge
• Peel and segment the orange making sure to remove the pith
• Slice the shallot super fine a swell
• Cut the tomato in half long ways and scoop out the seeds and dice about the size of your thumb nail, taking out the seeds, this is not a necessity but makes for a cleaner looking dish
• Add these ingredients to a mixing bowl with the olives, chickpeas and parsley

For the bass

• To cook the bass pre-heat a non-stick frying pan, add a tablespoon of olive oil and heat until it just starts to smoke
• Season the fish with salt and pepper place the fish skin down and reduce the heat, cooking for 6-7 mins
• Turn the fish and cook for a further 4 mins and take off the heat
• While the bass rests in the pan remove the fennel from the water and add to the rest if the ingredients in the mixing bowl, add a splash olive oil, a squeeze of lemon, a little salt & pepper and plate

Tip: Cooking should be natural and not black and white, so if there are ingredients you don’t like in this salad feel free to experiment a little. If you’re not used to going off piste with recipes then think about substituting like for like eg. chickpeas instead of new potatoes or the tomatoes for red pepper or even caperberries. One the most useful pieces of equipment for this dish is a mandolin, with it you can slice the shallots and fennel super thin making the salad nicer to eat and the flavours more delicate.