Photo: Pan-Seared Sea Bass in Tomato Fennel Broth Recipe
Ingredients
Sauce:
- 1/4 small fennel bulb, shaved thin
- 1 small onion , diced
- 1 carrot, peeled and diced
- 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/4 cup white wine
- 2 cups fish stock or clam juice
- 1/4 cup fresh orange juice
- 2 cups sun-dried tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
Fish:
- 2 (6-ounce) sea bass fillets, with skin on
- 1 teaspoon ground fennel
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Grapeseed oil
Directions
For the sauce: In a saucepan over medium-high heat, sweat the fennel, onions, and carrots in the olive oil. Cook until the vegetables are softened, 10 to 15 minutes. Next, deglaze with the white wine. Once the wine has reduced, add the stock and orange juice. Reduce the heat and allow the liquid to cook until it has reduced by half. Once reduced, add the tomatoes and garlic and allow the sauce to further simmer for 15 minutes. Taste and season. Remove saucepan from the heat, pour through a strainer, and return to the pan. Finish with the butter. Keep warm.
For the fish: Season the skin side of the fish fillets with the ground fennel, salt, and pepper, and then season the flesh side with salt and pepper.
In the oil in a nonstick saute pan over high heat until it reaches the smoking point. Reduce the heat and add the seasoned fish, skin side down, and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Flip, reduce the heat, and continue to cook for 5 to 6 minutes, carefully spooning the hot oil over the fish to keep the skin crisp. Once the fillet is cooked, remove from the pan and serve with the sauce.
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By stephen.hawk_10...
sugar grove, IL
on February 11, 2011
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This dish presents beautifully, but I found it to be a bit too subtle for my taste.
Don't be put off by the fennel; it's not dominant here at all.
Here are some suggested revisions (won't affect the taste:
2 Tbls evoo is plenty for sweating the fennel and onion; timing should be 7 - 10 minutes, rather than 10 - 15.
1 C of sundried tomatoes is plenty. Reserve 2 Tbls or so for the garnish before adding the rest to the aromatics.
Quantity for the grapeseed oil should be 2 - 3 Tbls. Grapeseed oil is quite neutral in flavor, and works well here, but if you can't find it easily, I think canola or peanut oil would work about as well.
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