Whole fish stuffed with fennel and onion makes a delicious, nutritious family meal.
Cook fish on the bone to keep that lovely moist texture. It's easy to serve it family-style and allow everyone to dig in, perhaps with a nice chicory salad on the side.
(Serves 4)400g new potatoes, halvedPinch of salt2 medium bream, 400g each1 small onion, finely sliced1 small head of fennel, finely slicedOlive oil1 lemon, rind grated and juice reserved200ml water2 tbsp flat-leaf parsley, chopped2 cloves garlic, choppedPreheat the oven to 200C/400F/gas mark six.Cover the potatoes with cold salted water in a pan and parboil for 10 minutes.
Place the bream in a large ovenproof dish.Combine the onion and fennel, hold the fish open with one hand and stuff with the mixture.Season the bream, add a dash of olive oil, the lemon juice and water, cover with foil and place in the oven for 15 minutes.Meanwhile, drain the potatoes and saute over a medium/high heat until golden brown.
Mix the parsley, lemon rind and garlic, season and add enough oil to bind.Check the fish is cooked by piercing with a knife - it should go in without resistance - and remove from the oven.To finish, cover the bream with the parsley mix and serve with the sauteed potatoes.
• Angela Hartnett is chef patron at Murano restaurant and consults at the Whitechapel Gallery and Dining Room, London. Twitter.com/angelahartnett
Angela Hartnett's stuffed bream and sauteed potatoes. Photograph: Linda Nylind for the Guardian