Broiled Striped Bass With Tomatoes And Fennel Food

BROILED STRIPED BASS WITH TOMATOES AND FENNEL

Steps:

• Preheat broiler with rack about 8 inches from heating element. Make diagonal slashes 1/4 inch deep at 2-inch intervals across flesh side of fish. Stir together garlic, oregano, lemon zest and juice, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and 2 tablespoons oil; spread on both sides of fish, rubbing into slashes. Cut fennel stalks from bulb; reserve 1/4 cup of picked fronds. Place stalks lengthwise on a rimmed baking sheet. Top with fish, slashed side up.
• Cut fennel bulb in half lengthwise; remove and discard core. Thinly slice bulb lengthwise and toss with tomatoes, olives, remaining tablespoon oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper; spread evenly around fish. Broil until fish is just cooked and opaque throughout and vegetables are charred in places, 8 to 10 minutes. (If they begin to blacken, tent with foil.) Divide fish and vegetables among 4 plates; garnish with fennel fronds.

ROASTED STRIPED BASS WITH FENNEL, TOMATOES, AND OIL-CURED OLIVES

Steps:

• Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 400°F. Boil wine in medium saucepan until reduced to 1 cup, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and reserve.
• Generously brush 18x12x1-inch baking sheet with olive oil. Arrange fennel slices in single layer on prepared baking sheet. Top with onion slices in single layer. Sprinkle with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Drizzle 4 tablespoons oil over vegetables.
• Rinse fish inside and out; pat dry with paper towels. Sprinkle fish inside and out with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Lightly dust outside of fish with flour. Pour enough olive oil into extra-large skillet to reach depth of 1/4 inch; heat over medium-high heat until oil is very hot. Working with 1 fish at a time, add fish to skillet and fry until golden crust forms on skin, about 3 minutes per side. Carefully place fish atop vegetables on baking sheet. Gently stuff cavity of each fish with 2 crushed garlic cloves, then 1/4 cup chopped parsley. Pour reserved wine over vegetables on baking sheet.
• Roast fish uncovered until vegetables begin to soften, 35 to 40 minutes. Scatter tomato halves and olives around fish; bake until fish is just cooked through, about 15 minutes longer. Transfer fish to large platter; cover with foil to keep warm. Increase oven temperature to 475°F. Continue to bake vegetables uncovered until tender and tomatoes are very soft and beginning to color in spots, about 15 minutes longer.
• Arrange vegetable mixture around fish on platter. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons oil. Sprinkle chopped fennel fronds over fish and serve.

GRILLED STRIPED BASS WITH LEMON AND FENNEL

Steps:

• Prepare barbecue (medium-high heat). Whisk first 3 ingredients in medium bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
• Make three 1/2-inch-deep diagonal slits in skin on each side of fish. Brush fish generously inside and out with garlic oil. Sprinkle fish inside and out with coarse salt. Stuff slits with half of fennel fronds. Place remaining fennel fronds inside fish. Place fish in grilling basket. Top fish with lemon slices, overlapping slightly. Close grilling basket (fish and lemon slices should be secured by basket). Grill fish until cooked through, about 10 minutes per side. Remove fish with lemon slices from basket and carefully transfer to platter. Serve.

GRILLED BASS WITH BUTTERY TOMATOES

Steps:

• Preheat a grill to high. Toss the tomatoes with the melted butter, wine, tarragon, 1/2 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of pepper. Pile the tomatoes in the center of a 24-inch-long piece of foil. Gather the edges and crimp to seal and form a packet.
• Brush the grill grates with vegetable oil. Brush both sides of the fish with vegetable oil; season generously with salt and pepper. Place the fish on one side of the grill, skin-side down. Grill until the fish is cooked through, 5 to 6 minutes per side. Meanwhile, grill the tomato packet on the other side of the grill, undisturbed, until the tomatoes are softened, 10 to 12 minutes.
• Carefully open the foil packet. Spoon the tomatoes and their juices over the fish and top with more tarragon.

STRIPED BASS OR MAHI MAHI WITH FENNEL, LEEKS AND TOMATOES

Steps:

• Lay the fish fillets in a baking dish or on a sheet pan and season with salt and pepper. Squeeze the lemon juice over the fish and refrigerate while you make the sauce.
• In a large lidded sauté pan that will accommodate all of the fish in one layer (see note below), heat the olive oil over medium heat and add the leeks. Cook, stirring, until they begin to soften, about 3 minutes, and add the garlic and a large pinch of salt. Cook, stirring, until the garlic is fragrant, about 30 seconds to a minute, and add the fennel. Turn down the heat to medium-low, cover the pan and cook, stirring often, until the fennel is tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Uncover the pan, add the tomatoes, salt to taste, and the pepper and cook uncovered, stirring often, for 10 to 15 minutes, until the tomatoes have cooked down and the mixture is thick and fragrant. Stir in the dill and 1 tablespoon of the parsley.
• Lay the fish over the fennel mixture. (Note: If the pan isn't big enough, divide the mixture between two pans.) Cover and place over medium heat. Simmer 10 minutes, or until the fish is opaque and pulls apart easily with a fork. Sprinkle on the remaining parsley and serve the sauce and fish together, with rice or potatoes.

STRIPED BASS WITH HEIRLOOM TOMATO SCAMPI

Steps:

• To cook the bass:
• Preheat the oven to 350°F.
• In a large ovenproof nonstick skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Season the fish liberally with salt and pepper and sprinkle with the lemon zest and juice. Once the oil begins to shimmer, place the fillets skin-side-down in the pan and let them cook, without moving them, until the skin is crisp and golden brown, 45 seconds to 1 minute. Give a light push to loosen the skin from the pan. Add the thyme sprigs to the pan. Transfer the pan to the oven and bake until the fish flakes easily with a fork, 6 to 8 minutes. Remove fish from the oven and transfer to paper towels.
• To make the scampi:
• In a large skillet, heat the garlic oil over medium-high heat. Add the garlic, shallots, and fennel seeds and cook, stirring frequently, until the shallots are translucent, about 2 minutes. Add the celery and capers and cook until the celery has softened, about 2 minutes. Add the wine to the pan and cook until it is reduced by half, about 1 minute. Add the vinegar, lemon zest and juice, tomatoes, and basil and cook for 1 to 2 minutes to incorporate the flavors and heat the tomatoes through.
• Serve the bass fillets topped with the tomato scampi.

WHOLE STRIPED BASS WITH FENNEL AND TOMATOES IN A ROASTING BAG

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Scrape off any scales adhering to the fish and refrigerate.
• Cut the feathery green fronds off the fennel and reserve. Cut off the stalks at the top of the bulb and discard. Use a vegetable peeler to remove any rough, stringy fiber from the outside of the bulb and then cut the fennel into 3 wedges. Place in a non-aluminum pan with the wine, coriander seeds, olive oil and salt and pepper. Simmer over low heat, covered, until the wedges soften but still retain some crunch, about 20 minutes. Set aside.
• Meanwhile, rinse and dry the fish, season it with salt and pepper and slide it into a roasting bag. (If the fish is too large you can cut off its head, but avoid this if possible as a headless fish makes a much less dramatic presentation.)
• Put the fennel, its cooking liquid and the reserved fennel fronds in the bag with the fish. Season the tomatoes with salt and pepper and add them to the bag. Push down on the bag to squeeze out excess air and seal with string.
• Carefully place the bag in an oval baking dish or shallow pan (it's easiest to bake the fish in something you can take straight to the table) and bake for about 15 minutes per inch of thickness (about 30 minutes for a 2-inch-thick fish).
• To serve, cut the bag open with a knife or scissors and serve pieces of fish surrounded by fennel, chopped tomatoes and a spoonful of the cooking juices.