Life

James Street South Cookery School: Barbecued bream and spiced duck breast

Niall McKenna's sea bream – bake it or barbecue it
Niall McKenna's sea bream – bake it or barbecue it Niall McKenna's sea bream – bake it or barbecue it

HAPPY Bank Holiday, folks – fingers crossed it's a scorcher. The BBC Radio 1 Biggest Weekend is happening on the Titanic Slipway in Belfast and Cast & Crew, our casual-dining outpost in Titanic Quarter, is minutes from the the venue.

The team there are going to have the huge outdoor barbecue pit going all weekend to make sure revellers are well fed. If you have a ticket, call in, say hello and enjoy the freshly grilled food.

If you can’t make it down, this week’s bream recipe is one for the barbie that you can easily try at home.

BREAM

(Serves four)

4 whole sea bream

4 cloves garlic, crushed

1 red pepper

1 chilli, finely chopped

1 pinch oregano

4 tblsp olive oil

1 lemon, juiced

Method

Clean and gut the sea bream, descaling both sides. To descale, scrape the skin with a sharp knife from tail to head, removing all the scales, rinsing under cold water as you go and at the end.

Place the red pepper over your gas flame on the hob until the skin is burnt and you can peel the blackened skin off the pepper and finely chop it. If you don’t have a gas hob, use a hot grill. Combine the chopped pepper with the chilli, the garlic, oregano, oil and lemon juice and drizzle some over the fish. Wrap the fish in cling film and refrigerate for one hour.

Season the fish with salt and a little pepper and place over the white coals of the barbecue for about five minutes. To serve, pour over remainder of marinade.

SPICED DUCK BREAST

(Serves four)

4 duck breasts, skin on

2 tblsp cumin

1 tblsp honey

½ orange, juiced

drop sherry vinegar

10ml olive oil

75g cous cous

handful almonds, toasted on dry pan

handful mangetout, steamed

2 sprigs coriander

Start by scoring the duck breast and rub with the cumin and drizzle over the honey. Season with salt. Place the duck skin-side down in a hot pan and leave for eight minutes to crisp. Turn the heat down when it is starting to smoke, making sure the extractor fan is on. Turn the breast over and cook on the other side for four minutes, then remove from pan and leave to rest.

To cook the cous-cous, place in a bowl and cover with boiling water. Cover in clingfilm and leave to cook through. Fork through after five minutes.

To make the dressing, mix the orange juice, vinegar and olive oil in a clean jar and shake with the lid on.

To serve, slice through the duck. Fork over the cous cous on to a plate and place the duck on top with the toasted almonds and mangetout. Serve with a sprig of coriander.