I like this creamy lemon butter sea bream as a bit of a fancy date-night meal. The sauce cooks with the fish, so it all comes together quite quickly (about 10 minutes cooking time).
That creamy sauce with the little salty hit of capers provides the perfect balance to the meaty sea bream. To me, this quite an elegant, balanced dish whilst being perfectly satisfying. It’s also a brilliant way to show off your cooking skills, without it being too time-consuming!
Table of Contents
📋 Ingredients
Sea Bream – You can swap the sea bream for other fish such as snapper or sea bass, or you could use a chunkier fish – such as salmon, cod or haddock. If you are using one of these chunky types of fish, add an extra 5–6 minutes to the cooking time to make sure it’s fully cooked through.
Flour, salt and pepper – to give the fish a light coating
Butter, garlic, white wine, cream, capers, lemon juice, parsley, salt & pepper – for the sauce.
Oil – Use a neutral oil such as sunflower, vegetable, or avocado.
📺 How to cook sea bream
***Full recipe with detailed steps in the recipe card at the end of this post***
- First, dust the bream with the flour and seasoning before frying it, flesh-side down with oil in a hot pan.
- Turn over the fish, and reduce the heat before adding the butter and garlic to the pan. Once the butter melts, add the wine.
- Once the wine has been reduced by half, add the cream, capers, lemon juice, and seasonings. Stir together until hot throughout, basting the fish with the sauce.
- Turn off the heat and stir in the parsley before serving.
Pro Tip
Want the sea bream skin crisp? Score the skin of the fish a few times before cooking. Add an extra tablespoon of oil to the pan and fry skin-side down first for 2–3 minutes, then turn over and cook for a further 2–3 minutes until the fish is browned and cooked through. Transfer to a warm plate – skin-side up – then continue making the sauce in the pan. Serve the sauce alongside the fish.
It only takes 15 minutes to make, including prep time!
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Pin It🍽️ What to serve it with
- This is best served with fluffy pile of buttery Mashed Potatoes, a large hunk of Artisan Bread to mop up any sauce, and green vegetables, such as peas, asparagus, tenderstem broccoli or these Easy Spring Greens.
🍲 More fantastic date-night dinners
? Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, you can swap the sea bream for other fish such as snapper or sea bass, or you could use a chunkier fish – such as salmon, cod or haddock. If you’re using one of these chunky types of fish, add an extra 5–6 minutes to the cooking time to make sure it’s fully cooked through.
This dish is best served freshly cooked, so I would not recommend cooking it ahead to reheat of freeze.
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Lemon Butter Sea Bream Recipe
Ingredients
- 400 g skin-on sea bream fillets This is approx 2 small fillets or 1 large fillet per person
- 1 tbsp plain (all-purpose) flour
- a pinch of salt and pepper
- 1 tbsp oil
Creamy lemon butter sauce:
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 2 garlic cloves peeled and minced
- 60 ml (1/4 cup) white wine
- 120 ml (1/2 cup) double (heavy) cream
- 2 tbsp capers
- 2 tbsp lemon juice approx. the juice of 1 lemon
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp ground black pepper
- 4 tbsp (1/4 cup) chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
To serve:
- mashed potato
- steamed peas
Instructions
- Dust the flesh side of the fish fillets with the flour, salt and pepper.400 g skin-on sea bream fillets, 1 tbsp plain (all-purpose) flour, a pinch of salt and pepper
- Heat the oil in a large frying pan (skillet) over a medium–high heat. Add the fillets, flesh-side down, and cook for 2–3 minutes until golden brown.1 tbsp oil
- Turn the fish over, reduce the heat to medium and immediately add the butter and garlic to the pan. Stir until the butter melts, then pour in the wine. Allow the wine to bubble for 1–2 minutes until half of it has evaporated.2 tbsp unsalted butter, 2 garlic cloves, 60 ml (1/4 cup) white wine
- Add the cream, capers, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Stir together and heat through for 2–3 minutes, basting the fish with the liquid until the sauce is hot and the fish is cooked through.120 ml (1/2 cup) double (heavy) cream, 2 tbsp capers, 2 tbsp lemon juice, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
- Turn off the heat and stir in the parsley.4 tbsp (1/4 cup) chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
- I like to serve this dish with buttery mashed potato and peas. The sauce sinks into the mashed potato beautifully!mashed potato, steamed peas
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Some of the links in this post may be affiliate links – which means if you buy the product I get a small commission (at no extra cost to you). If you do buy, then thank you! That’s what helps us to keep Kitchen Sanctuary running. The nutritional information provided is approximate and can vary depending on several factors. For more information please see our Terms & Conditions.
