When life gives you lemons, you could make lemonade – or serve up a zesty fish dinner and a fresh bulgur salad that zing with lemony goodness.

Fish with lemons and oranges

Serves 4

• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 40 g butter
• 4 garlic cloves, peeled and left whole
• 4 x 150 g sea bream fillets (or perch, red snapper) with skin, cleaned of all bones a bundle of thyme
• 12 green olives and 12 black olives, pitted
• 60 ml (¼ cup) white wine
• 4 Tbsp lemon juice
• juice of 1 orange
• 2 tsp finely grated lemon zest
• 2 tsp finely grated orange zest
• 1 tsp finely chopped parsley

Heat the oil and butter in a large non-stick frying pan and add the garlic cloves. When the garlic is sizzling add the fish fillets, skin side down, and cook over a high heat until the skin is crispy, about 5 minutes.

Turn the fillets, sprinkle a little salt and pepper over the skin and strip in quite a few thyme leaves (leaving a few branches whole), then lower the heat and add the olives and the wine. Let the wine evaporate a bit and cook, uncovered, for about 10 minutes.

Turn the fillets over again and scatter a little salt and pepper over the top. Add the lemon and orange juice to the pan and simmer, uncovered, for about 10 minutes, until the sauce is thick and a bit syrupy but still quite abundant. Scatter the lemon and orange zest over the fish and put a sprig of thyme on top of each. Rock the pan so the fragrance mingles into the sauce. Scatter the parsley over and remove from the heat. Serve hot.

Bulgur and mango salad

Serves 6 to 8

• 200 g bulgur wheat
• juice of 2 lemons (about 8 tablespoons)
• 1 large ripe firm mango (about 650 g)
• ½ red onion (40 g), chopped
• 1 small bunch spring onions (scallions), white and green, chopped (about 100 g)
• 80 g sweet red capsicum, chopped
• 80 g sweet green capsicum, chopped
• 1 small chilli, deseeded and very finely chopped
• 125 g cherry tomatoes, quartered or in small chunks if bigger
• 35 g (¾ cup) chopped parsley
• 35 g (¾ cup) chopped mint
• 35 g (¾ cup) chopped coriander (cilantro)
• 2 Tbsp lime juice
• 4 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

Put the bulgur in a large wide metal bowl, pour over 250 ml (1 cup) boiling water and add the lemon juice and 1 teaspoon of salt. Stir through. When it has cooled down a bit, cover and put into the fridge for a few hours (or overnight), until the bulgur has absorbed all the liquid.

When ready to serve, cut the cheeks off the mango, peel off their skins, and cut the flesh into small pieces.

Mix the red onions, spring onions, capsicums, chilli, tomatoes and herbs together in a bowl. Add to the bulgur with the mango pieces, lime and olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. Mix everything together gently and taste to see if you need more salt, pepper or lime.