Sea Bream - Saffron - Orzo

Crispy-Skinned Fish with Creamy Orzo
If you're into golden, crisp fish skin — say no more.

I’m using sea bream (dorade) here, but red mullet or snapper works just as well. Go with what you can get your hands on.

If you’re up for it, clean and fillet the fish yourself and use the trimmings (head, bones, offcuts) to make a quick fish stock. If that’s not your thing, just ask your fishmonger to clean and fillet it for you. There are some solid store-bought fish stocks out there.

This recipe is written with ready-to-use sea bream fillets in mind, so I won't be going into filleting detail here.

As always, I recommend reading the full recipe before you start. It'll save you time. Enjoy!

(Find my 30-minute fish stock here btw)

Serves 4

For the Orzo

  • 500g orzo

  • 1–1.2L fish stock

For the Fish

  • 4 sea bream fillets - at room temperature. Take out of the fridge before cooking to get it down to room temp.

  • Olive oil or a neutral tasting oil (sunflower for example)

  • Salt

To Serve

  • Lemon wedges

  • Chopped parsley

Method

For the Orzo
Heat your fish stock in a cast-iron skillet - my go-to pan for this. I usually cook risotto in these too. Just make sure it’s big enough to hold both the orzo and the stock.

Once the stock is gently simmering, add all the orzo at once. Keep the heat low and steady - you’re not trying to reduce the liquid.

Stick close to the pan. Orzo cooks faster than risotto, but you need to keep stirring so it doesn’t catch on the bottom. Let the orzo slowly absorb the stock, stirring regularly - treat it like risotto.

You’ll notice the liquid thickening slightly - that’s the starch doing its job. You want a creamy consistency here, not a dry orzo that’s soaked up everything.

Taste as you go. I prefer my orzo al dente, so once it’s almost at that stage, I turn off the heat and let the residual warmth finish the job.

Optional: Add a knob of butter for extra creaminess. Let it melt on top for 30 seconds before stirring it in.

For the fish
Get a skillet on the stove over high heat. You want it really hot. Test it by flicking in a few drops of water - if they dance around the pan, you're good to go.

Brush your fillets with oil on both sides and season with salt.

Place the fillets in the pan, skin-side down. Keep gentle pressure on them with your hand to stop the skin from curling - or better yet, use a fish weight (those heavy presses they use for smash burgers work perfectly). Cook for about 90 seconds.

Flip the fillets and cook for another minute on the flesh side.

Tip: Not sure if your fish is cooked through? Poke a toothpick into the thickest part and hold it there for a few seconds. Then touch the tip gently to the sensitive skin on your lower lip - if it feels distinctly hot, the fish is done.

If you’re not serving the fish immediately, rest it skin-side up - this keeps the skin crispy and prevents it from going leathery.

To serve
Plate the Orzo. Add some chopped parsley. Finish with the fish on top. Serve with lemon wedges. Bon ap!

As always: If you love garlic... add more garlic. It's your food.