15 Minute Mediterranean Basa Fish with Lemon Couscous

All the wonderful flavours of the Mediterranean are packed into this quick and easy 15 minute Mediterranean basa fish with lemon couscous recipe. Yummy!

Marvellous Mediterranean

What could be more delicious than the dreamy, aromatic flavours of Mediterranean cuisine?! 

Tomatoes, olives, lemons, garlic and oh so many other gorgeous, sunny flavours work together to make some truly memorable dishes from that region. If you haven’t already, check out my 10 Minute Mediterranean Tuna Pasta which also captures some of these lovely flavours.

Fabulous Fish

I’m also a huge fan of using fish of all different types in many of my quick recipes. For example, my 15 Minute Miso Salmon with Spinach and 10 Minute Thai Green Tuna Fishcakes with Chilli and Lime Mayo to name just a couple.

I love creating recipes with fish for many good reasons. Fish is generally super healthy, really delicious and very versatile in how you can cook it and what flavours you can add to it. Perhaps most importantly for me, fish usually cooks extremely quickly! As this blog is all about the quick cooking, I use fish really often to ensure my recipes are very quick and easy to make, just like in this 15 minute Mediterranean basa fish with lemon couscous dish.

There are many types of white fish that would work perfectly well in this quick recipe, however I’ve decided to choose basa for a few reasons. I reckon basa is a really underrated fish and nowhere near as well known as it’s fishy friends such as cod and haddock. Basa is actually a type of catfish that is native to South East Asia and is farmed in rivers there. One huge advantage of this white fish is the price – it’s so much cheaper than many other types of similar fish, making it a really economical ingredient to feed your family with.

Basa is an excellent source of protein and good quality fats such as Omega 3. It has a firm texture and robust flavour that’s similar to other types of catfish meaning it can hold it’s own against ‘strong’ Mediterranean flavours like olives and garlic. Some other white fish – for example sea bass – are rather delicate and thin and would be swamped in such bold flavours. Basa pairs very well which is why you’ll find it happily featuring in this 15 minute recipe.

Sustainable..?

Now a final, all-important question about basa…. is it ‘sustainable’?? The answer is, (just like many things in life), it depends. Basa absolutely can be considered sustainable, but you need to ensure you buy the right sort.

The Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) is responsible for ensuring that basa is grown and harvested in sustainable, environmentally friendly and socially responsible ways. This is why it’s super important to purchase basa that comes with the ‘ASC’ label on it’s packaging. It’s unfortunate, but some unscrupulous farmers sell fish without such safeguards and protections, but when you see this label, you know you’re good to go!

Celebrating Couscous

Can we talk about couscous for a moment?? It’s SUCH an underrated grain. It was super on-trend a few years ago and seemed to be everywhere, including in the most fashionable of eateries. It’s kind of paled into the culinary background in recent times though, in favour of other grains such as quinoa and bulgar wheat.

However, I’m putting my vote in for bringing back couscous! It’s such a fantastic little grain for many reasons. Firstly, it’s so quick to cook. I’m all about the quick cooking so this ticks one very important box for me. All you have to do is pour over boiling water, leave it a few minutes and then voila! All ready.

Couscous is also so very versatile! It’s very plain so can take on board whatever flavour you choose to throw at it. Here, I’ve paired it with lemon and parsley which beautifully complements the punchy flavours of the basa and it’s colourful topping. it’s also super quick to add lots of yummy extra flavour with just a quick dash of lemon juice and a sprinkling of chopped parsley – another good reason to use these as flavourings in this quick and healthy recipe.

Now, as I’ve been raving about, the luscious topping to this 15 minute Mediterranean basa fish with lemon couscous recipe is inspired by the lovely flavours of the region- tomatoes, olives, capers and sping onion. However, tying it all together is one of my favourite ingredients… red pesto.

Red pesto is usually made from a base of sundried tomatoes with other key ingredients such as olive oil, basil and garlic. (You can get types made with red pepper and those are equally delicious). It’s such a yummy way to bring together all of the flavours of this dish, and help to bind the other ingredients together.

To make your delicious dinner in super-fast time, you will need a decent food processor or blender. You can chop things by hand of course, but this takes up precious time. You can chop and combine all of the topping ingredients together in only a few short seconds in a food processor. You just have to be careful not to overblend. I recommend ‘pulsing’ about 5-10 times – that is, just hitting the blend button quickly a few times to chop everything up nicely. Too much blending, and you’ll end up with a sloppy mess, which we don’t want of course!

Now, a final word on salt. I definitely recommend adding some salt to the lemon couscous, otherwise the flavour tends to be a bit too bland. However, I’ve not added any to the Mediterranean topping because with the capers, olives and the red pesto, there’s a lot of salt already on board and I just don’t think it needs any extra in my opinion. Of course, if you’d like to add an extra sprinkling to please your tastebuds then go right ahead but it doesn’t necessarily need this.

STEP BY STEP GUIDE TO MAKING THE PERFECT 15 MINUTE MEDITERRANEAN BASA FISH WITH LEMON COUSCOUS

Now lets have a quick look at each of stage of making this deliciously quick basa fish recipe with useful pictures along the way. This makes 4 servings.

STEP 1;

To get started, preheat your oven to 190c (375f) conventional or 170c (340f) fan.

STEP 2;

Chop off the tops and tails of 3 spring onions. Pop these into a blender or food processor along with 150g (5.2oz) cherry or baby plum tomatoes, 4 heaped tablespoons of black olives (I like to use kalamata olives, but any are fine), 2 heaped tablespoons of red pesto, 1 heaped tablespoon of capers and 1 heaped teaspoon of garlic puree. (You can get this very easily in jars or squeezy tubes from most big food stores).

‘Pulse’ the food processor around 5-10x in total, to chop and combine everything. When I say ‘pulse’, I mean literally hit the blend button for a split second, for up to 10x in total. Don’t put it on full pelt, otherwise the ingredients will be too finely chopped and create a sloppy mess. Not what we want! You want the ingredients to be nicely chopped. Don’t worry if there are some bigger and some smaller pieces, that all adds nicely to the texture and presentation.

STEP 3;

Place 4 basa fillets on a baking tray that’s been lined with greaseproof paper and brushed lightly with olive oil (to stop the fish sticking). Spoon the chopped vegetable mixture over the top of each fillet, ensuing each piece of fish gets roughly the same amount.

Place the topped fish in the oven and cook for around 12 minutes, until the fish is fully cooked and flakes easily when pressed lightly.

STEP 4;

Whilst the fish cooks, it’s time to make your couscous. Place 200g (7oz) of couscous in a medium heatproof bowl and pour over 250mls (1 cup) of boiling water. Squeeze in the juice of 1 lemon and 1/2 tsp of fine salt. Give it a quick stir then cover and set aside for around 8 minutes.

STEP 5;

Remove the basa from the oven and set aside.

Take about 15g (0.5oz) of flat leaf parsley and roughly chop it. Add this to your couscous – which should hopefully be ready by now. Finally, add 1 tablespoon blended olive oil. Stir it all together until light and fluffy.

STEP 6;

Time to plate up! Divide the lemon and parsley couscous equally between 4 serving plates. Place one fillet of the basa fish on top of each couscous base. Add a little sprig of parsley if you like for garnish. Serve!