This delightful dish brings three disparate parts together beautifully; the sweet/salty/juicy/creamy fish with its lovely crispy skin, the sweet/sharp/savoury shallots and the aromatic, herby, earthy crunch of the lentils all sit together very well indeed. When it's in season, some young asparagus, lightly oiled and baked in a hot oven, is a lovely accompaniment. Smoked sea salt is a real hit here, by the way, but not absolutely essential

2 decent sized sea bass fillets, skin on

For the agrodolce:-

4 medium sized banana shallots

1 tblspn extra virgin olive oil

1 tspn sugar

4 tblspns Marsala

For the lentils:-

1 heaped tspn chives, finely chopped

200g cooked Puy lentils

10g flat leaf parsley, stalks removed, leaves finely chopped

Extra virgin olive oil

Sea salt, smoked if you have it

Your favourite light salad leaves

• Place the shallots, whole and unpeeled, in a saucepan, cover with cold water and bring to a boil. Simmer for 5 minutes. Drain and refresh fully in cold water. Peel most of the skin off, leaving the root end whole, which will help stop them from falling apart during the next bit. Heat a little oil in a frying pan, and carefully fry over a medium heat for about 15 minutes, turning frequently till they’re golden all over with the occasional charred bit. Sprinkle over the sugar and stir gently, then add the Marsala and a good pinch of salt. Turn the heat right down, and allow to simmer till the liquid has become a thick, syrupy sauce, about 10 minutes. Put into a bowl, set aside, keeping warm. Clean the frying pan

• In a small saucepan, heat a little extra virgin olive oil and add the chives. Cook for 3 minutes, then add the lentils with a tablespoon of water. Stir gently for a minute, then stir in most of the chopped parsley, leaving behind enough to garnish when you serve, and season well with salt and pepper – smoked salt works a real treat here. Set aside, keeping warm

• Get the frying pan good and hot with a splash of groundnut oil, then add the fish fillets, skin side down, pressing on them for a moment to stop them from curling. Cook for 3 minutes, then flip and cook for a further 2 minutes

• Meanwhile, place half of the herby lentils in a row down the middle of each of two dinner plates, with two shallots on top of each, with a good handful of salad leaves beside. When the fish is done, put one fillet on each plate, skin side up, scatter with the reserved chopped parsley, and serve