This delicious easy sea bass with creamy lemon sauce dish is from Mary Berry Cooks the Perfect Step by Step recipe book. Sea bass is another favourite fish of ours...it has a lovely earthy flavour!! If we're out for dinner and there's sea bass on the menu, it's guaranteed that I will choose it!!
The creamy lemon sauce makes it feel like quite an indulgent dish, but you can cut the calories down if you use Elmlea cream instead. Enjoy this pan fried sea bass with creamy lemon sauce as a special treat or for date night at a weekend. We're really lucky that my work is opposite a local fish shop, so being able to buy fresh fish is a bonus!
Tips
- Lemon juice - a lemon typically contains 2 to 3 tbsp of juice, so for half it would be 1 to 1.5 tbsp, to taste, for this recipe.
- For crispy golden skin on the sea bass:
- Using a sharp knife, score the fish skin by making 4 or 5 cuts to the point where you can see the flesh. Scoring the fillets helps to keep them flat in the pan, ensuring they don’t curl up as they cook.
- The pan must be very hot when you add the fillets, so that they can sear properly. Don’t move the fish as it cooks, as it may break up and you’ll lose the attractive charred pattern from the pan’s ridges.
- Enjoy the creamy lemon sauce with any pan fried fish, eg: sea bream, haddock, salmon, rock turbot.
Featured Comment
"Easy to follow recipe. Lemon flavour sauce with the sea bass made the dish delicious."
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Frequently Asked Questions
If sea bass isn’t available, you can use other white fish like cod, halibut, or haddock. These fish have a similar texture and pair well with creamy lemon sauce.
Sea bass is fully cooked when it reaches an internal temperature of 63C and flakes easily with a fork. It should be opaque and not translucent.
To avoid curdling, remove the pan from heat when adding the lemon juice to the cream. Stir continuously, and don’t boil the sauce once the cream and lemon are combined.
The sea bass is best served fresh, but you can prepare the creamy lemon sauce in advance and store it in the fridge for up to two days. Reheat the sauce gently over low heat before serving.
While you can freeze the cooked sea bass, the creamy lemon sauce doesn’t freeze well due to the dairy content. It’s best to enjoy this dish fresh or refrigerate leftovers for up to 2 days.
This dish pairs well with light sides like steamed vegetables, a green salad, or roasted potatoes.
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How to make this Easy Sea Bass with Creamy Lemon Sauce
Ingredients
For the fish:
- 4 sea bass fillets, each weighing approx. 100g (see Tips)
- olive oil for brushing
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the sauce:
- 50g butter
- 150ml single cream (I use Elmlea to reduce the calories!)
- half a lemon, zest and juice (see Tips)
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 tsp plain flour
- salt and ground white pepper
- 2 tsp fresh chives finely snipped, or 0.5 tsp dried chives
Instructions
- Make the sauce - melt the butter in a small pan. Remove it from the heat, then whisk in the cream, lemon juice, egg yolk, and flour until well mixed. Stir in the lemon zest. Return the pan to a low heat and stir continuously until the mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon. If using dried chives, add them now. Season with salt and white pepper and set aside.
- Preheat a griddle pan or heavy frying pan over a high heat for about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, pat the sea bass fillets dry with kitchen roll and score the skin (see Tips). Brush both sides of the fish with olive oil and season with salt and black pepper.
- Reduce the heat to medium high and lay the fillets in the hot pan, skin side down (see Tips). Cook for 3 minutes until the skin is lightly charred and crisp. Carefully turn the fillets over using a fish slice, then fry for a further 1 to 2 minutes on the other side. You may need to cook the fish in batches.
- Warm the sauce through briefly over a very low heat. Remove from the heat and stir in the fresh chives (if using). To serve, lay the fish on warmed plates and spoon over some of the sauce. Pour the rest of the sauce into a jug.
- We enjoy ours with boiled new potatoes, green beans and courgettes.
- Alternative serving suggestion - try it with some roast veg.
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Easy Sea Bass with Creamy Lemon Sauce
Ingredients
For the fish:
- 4 sea bass fillets each weighing approx. 100g (see Notes)
- olive oil for brushing
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the sauce:
- 50 g (2 oz) butter
- 150 ml (⅔ cup) single cream (I use Elmea to reduce the calories!)
- half a lemon zest and juice (see Notes)
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 tsp plain flour
- salt and ground white pepper
- 2 tsp fresh chives finely snipped, or 0.5 tsp dried chives
Instructions
- Make the sauce - melt the butter in a small pan. Remove it from the heat, then whisk in the cream, lemon juice, egg yolk, and flour until well mixed. Stir in the lemon zest. Return the pan to a low heat and stir continuously until the mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon. If using dried chives, add them now. Season with salt and white pepper and set aside.
- Preheat a griddle pan or heavy frying pan over a high heat for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, pat the sea bass fillets dry with kitchen roll and score the skin (see Notes). Brush both sides of the fish with olive oil and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
- Reduce the heat to medium high and lay the fillets in the hot pan, skin side down (see Notes). Cook for 3 minutes until the skin is lightly charred and crisp. Carefully turn the fillets over using a fish slice, then fry for a further 1 to 2 minutes on the other side. You may need to cook the fish in batches.
- Warm the sauce through briefly over a very low heat. Remove from the heat and stir in the fresh chives (if using). To serve, lay the fish on warmed plates and spoon over some of the sauce. Pour the rest of the sauce into a jug.
- We enjoy ours with boiled new potatoes, green beans and courgettes.
- Alternative serving suggestion - try it with some roast veg.
Notes
- Lemon juice - a lemon typically contains 2 to 3 tbsp of juice, so for half it would be 1 to 1.5 tbsp, to taste, for this recipe.
- For crispy golden skin on the sea bass:
-
- Using a sharp knife, score the fish skin by making 4 or 5 cuts to the point where you can see the flesh. Scoring the fillets helps to keep them flat in the pan, ensuring they don’t curl up as they cook.
-
- The pan must be very hot when you add the fillets, so that they can sear properly. Don’t move the fish as it cooks, as it may break up and you’ll lose the attractive charred pattern from the pan’s ridges.
-
- Enjoy the creamy lemon sauce with any pan fried fish, eg: sea bream, haddock, salmon, rock turbot.
You might also like to try:
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Meryl Budge says
Easy to follow recipe . Lemon flavour sauce with the sea bass made the dish Delicious .
Deborah says
Thank you for your positive comment - I'm so glad you enjoy this recipe...it's one of the most popular ones!
Michelle says
The basic sauce was lovely and came together very quickly. It would be nice if the amount of fresh lemon was specified as lemons come in a variety of sizes. I added dried mixed herbs in addition to using the salt and pepper as suggested. Thank you for a lovely and versatile sauce!
Deborah says
Hi Michelle, thanks for your comment and suggestion re quantity of lemon juice - I'm glad you enjoyed it. I'll update the ingredient list with a guideline, as a lemon typically contains 2 to 3 tbsp of juice, so for half it would be around 1 to 1.5 tbsp.
Joools says
Lovely lemon sauce and easy to make, thank you for the recipe.
Deborah says
Thanks for your positive comment and rating - much appreciated, and glad you enjoy it!