Bream

One of my favourite fish is bream. I think it's because it reminds

me of warm, sunny places where I have eaten it. I picked one up at a bargain price yesterday and as the weather was so miserable today decided to take myself back to one of those places while I cooked it.

Bream baked with vegetables, cumin and mint.

For 2.

2 bream, cleaned and scaled

3 medium potatoes, sliced into 1/2cm slices

1 aubergine, sliced into 1cm slices

1 red onion, in 1/2cm slices

1 clove garlic finely sliced

generous 1/2tsp cumin seeds

handful of cherry tomatoes, halved

1/2 lemon, thinly sliced

bunch of mint

olive oil

Salt and pepper

Heat the oven to 200c, gas 6. Place the potatoes, aubergine and red onion in a roasting tin, scatter over the cumin seeds and garlic. Liberally drizzle with olive oil and toss to coat. Place in the oven for about 25 minutes or until the potatoes are just cooked. Make about 4 slashes across the flesh of each fish and rub a little salt, pepper and olive oil into these. Place some slices of lemon on the vegetables, the fish on top and some more lemon on the fish. Scatter the tomato halves around the fish. Return to the oven for about 20 minutes until it is almost done. Meanwhile blitz the mint with a generous glug of olive oil - or pound in a pestle and mortar if you are feeling virtuous! Drizzle the mint oil over the fish and vegetables and put it back in the oven until the fish is cooked.

If you don't like to see fish heads on your plate, use fillets instead. Place them skin side up to cook, they will only take about 10 minutes.