Photo of Pan-seared branzino with tomatoes, olives, and capers by Millie Peartree by WW

Pan-seared branzino with tomatoes, olives, and capers by Millie Peartree

5
Points®
Total Time
22 min
Prep
15 min
Cook
7 min
Serves
4
Difficulty
Easy
Mildly-flavored branzino gets a ton of flavor from classic Italian ingredients like sweet cherry tomatoes, briny olives, salty capers, white wine, and fresh herbs. Serve with rice to soak up the wonderful pan sauce. Chilean sea bass and halibut also work well in this recipe.

Ingredients

Uncooked branzino (sea bass)

1½ pound(s), skin-on, (four 6 oz pieces)

Kosher salt

½ tsp

Black pepper

½ tsp

Extra virgin olive oil

2 Tbsp

Cherry tomatoes

1 cup(s), quartered

Pimiento stuffed olives

12 olive(s), halved

Capers

2 Tbsp, rinsed and drained

Fresh thyme

1 Tbsp

White wine

3 Tbsp, dry variety

Fresh parsley

2 Tbsp, Italian variety, chopped

Unsalted butter

1 Tbsp

Instructions

  1. Place fillets on paper towels and dry well. With a sharp knife, score skin of each fillet by making three shallow cuts on a slight diagonal. Sprinkle fillets on all sides with salt and pepper.
  2. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil to hot pan, and then add fillets to pan, skin side down (make sure to lay the fish away from you in pan). Press gently on each fillet to make sure the skin has full contact with pan. Allow fish to cook undisturbed for 3 minutes. Using a fish spatula, gently flip fillets and cook for another 30 seconds. Remove fillets to a platter, skin side up, and keep warm.
  3. Add tomatoes, olives, capers, and thyme to same hot pan. Cook for 1 minute, stirring with a wooden spoon. Add wine, reduce heat to medium, and cook until wine is reduced by half, about 2 minutes. Stir in parsley and butter. Spoon sauce over branzino and serve immediately.
  4. Serving size: 1 fillet with a few tbsp sauce

Notes

Bronx Chef Millie Peartree started cooking at a very young age, inspired by her mother and her time growing up in the southern United States. Millie is well-known for her famous restaurant but she is also a successful baker and caterer.