Pan-fried sea bass with pesto spaghetti

I haven't had fish for ages and was really craving it last night; then realised that I hadn't ever posted a recipe that included fish on this blog! I love fish, particularly smoked salmon, tuna and any white fish. I rarely have sea bass but it is delicious and easy to work with. I won't take credit for the cooking of it, however, as my boyfriend was actually in charge of the fish frying! As said before in previous posts, I am a big fan of pasta and pesto, it is such a quick comfort food to whip up that isn't too unhealthy, and it tastes delicious. I decided to add some cherry tomatoes and mozzarella. Although this pasta is great on its own and is particularly suited to vegetarians, it also works perfectly with fish or chicken, or even cut up bits of bacon. So if you're thinking oh god i hate fish - then you don't have to use fish, you could grill some chicken or bread it and fry it to place on top, or fry it in chunks and mix it in. You can pretty much do anything with pasta and pesto - add more veg like onions, mushrooms, courgette, brocolli - anything you like, or experiment with adding different cheeses, or adding fresh herbs like basil. If you have ever had the pesto pasta at Zizzi's you will know it is great with a very creamy pesto sauce and green beans. This is a delicious 20-minute dinner!

Serves 2

- 200g spaghetti (or any other pasta)

- drizzle of olive oil

- 2 sea bass fillets

- 1/2 jar of green/basil pesto

- cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered (as many as you like)

- 1/2 ball of buffalo mozzarella

1. Boil water in a pan for the pasta and cook according to the packet instructions (should take around 10 minutes)

2. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a frying pan and fry the sea bass, skin side down for 10 minutes on a medium heat, or until the fish is cooking through and the skin is crisp.

3. Drain the pasta and return to the pan. Add the pesto over a small heat. Stir/toss until all the pasta is coated, then stir in the tomatoes and mozzarella. Heat through.

4. Meanwhile, flip the fish onto the other side for a few minutes until cooked through (cut one piece in half to check)

4. Place the pesto spaghetti mix onto the plate and top with the sea bass. This is perfect on its own or served with extra veg - I served with green beans.

Enjoy :)