Striped Bass Seared With Honey And Ouzo Food

SEARED WILD STRIPED BASS WITH SAUTEED SPRING VEGETABLES

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil. Meanwhile, fill a large bowl with ice water and salt it well. Place the asparagus in the boiling water and cook until the water comes back to a rolling boil. Remove and place it immediately in the salted ice water. When the asparagus has cooled completely, remove it from the water and reserve. Repeat this process with the sugar snap peas and then the fava beans. You can use the same blanching water for all of the veggies, just be sure to always do the fava beans last. Fava beans have very high iron content and will turn the blanching water black. After the beans are blanched and cooled, remove the tough outer skin to reveal a lovely spring green fava bean.;
• Coat a large saute pan with olive oil. Smash the three garlic cloves with the heel of your hand and add to the saute pan. Bring the pan to a medium high heat. When the garlic has become golden brown and very aromatic remove it from the pan and discard it. It has fulfilled its garlic destiny. Add the mushrooms and stock, season generously with salt, and saute for 1 minute. Add the prepared veggies, season with salt and saute until all the ingredients are coated with oil and hot and almost all the stock has evaporated. Serve immediately or later at room temperature.;
• Take the fish out of the refrigerator about 10 to 15 minutes before using. Pat the skin dry with a paper towel and season the fish on both sides with salt. Heat a large saute pan coated generously with extra virgin olive oil over high heat. Coat the bottom of another slightly smaller saute pan with olive oil. Gently place the fish fillets skin side down in the saute pan and place the other saute pan directly on top of the fish. The purpose of this is to gently press the skin of the bass onto the bottom of the saute pan to create a lovely crispy fish skin. Be sure to oil the bottom of the top saute pan or the fish will stick to it. After a couple of minutes remove the top saute pan from the fish, this will allow the steam to escape and the skin to become very crispy. As fish cooks it turns from translucent to opaque. The idea is to cook the fish 2/3's of the way on the skin side and flip it over for the last 1/3 of the cooking time. The rule for fish is about 7 to 8 minutes per inch of thickness, a little less if you like your fish more on the rare side.
• Serve the fish over the sauteed spring veggies and call your self a superstar!

STRIPED BASS SEARED WITH HONEY AND OUZO

Steps:

• Whisk flour and garlic powder together in a bowl. Toss bass in the flour mixture until coated.
• Whisk fish sauce, olive oil, honey, and oregano together in a bowl until smooth.
• Heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Cook and stir bass in the hot skillet until lightly browned on all sides, about 5 minutes. Transfer bass to a plate. Add ouzo and fish sauce mixture to hot skillet; bring to a boil. Return bass to pan and cook until fish is cooked through, about 5 minutes more.

MISO AND HONEY GLAZED SEA BASS WITH CHINESE LONG BEAN SALAD

Steps:

• In a small bowl combine the miso powder with 1 tablespoon of hot water to form a paste. Warm the honey in a microwavable bowl for approximately 1 minute or until hot (be careful, as it can burn quickly). Add the honey to the miso mixture. Put the fish into a resealable plastic bag and add the honey mixture. Seal the bag and refrigerate for up to 4 hours.
• Bring a large saucepan of salted water to a boil over medium heat. Add the Chinese long beans and blanch until tender, but not overcooked. Shock the beans in iced water, to stop the cooking and maintain their color. Drain and dry the long beans and either chop into 4 to 6-inch segments or form circles by wrapping the beans around themselves.
• In a large skillet add the grapeseed oil and heat until smoking hot. Remove the fish from the marinade and sear in hot skillet until the flesh has an opaque color, about 3 to 4 minutes. Remove the fish from the pan to a large plate and reserve.
• For the sauce, using the same skillet, over medium heat, add the onion and saute until translucent, then add the chicken stock, ginger and lemongrass and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and strain the liquid, discarding the solids.
• Return the liquid to a clean skillet, over medium heat. Add the raisins and reduce the liquid by half its volume. Stir in the butter cubes and whisk until the sauce thickens. Remove from heat and allow to rest until needed.
• Heat a little grapeseed oil in a medium skillet, over medium heat, and add the long bean circles or strips and saute until golden brown.
• To serve, arrange 2 long bean circles in the middle of each plate. Top the beans with a fish fillet and drizzle with the sauce. Garnish with cilantro and lemon.
• Cook's Note: to make this dish extra special, you could make a horseradish relish to go on top.

ROASTED STRIPED BASS WITH RED PEPPER-SPANISH PAPRIKA SAUCE WITH BATTER FRIED POTATOES

Steps:

• Toast the paprika in a small skillet over medium heat until the aroma emerges and the color deepens, about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat. In a blender, combine the paprika with the vinegar, honey, and red peppers and blend well. Slowly add the oil and blend until emulsified. Season with salt and pepper.
• For the Bass: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Make 4 diagonal cuts on each side of each fish, reaching all the way down to the bone. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Place a large roasting pan on a burner over high heat. When pan is hot add oil. Heat oil to almost smoking. Place the fish in the roasting pan and sear until golden brown, about 1 to 2 minutes per side. When fish is seared, place the roasting pan into the oven and roast for 12 to 14 minutes, depending on the size of the fish. Arrange the fish on a large serving platter with batter fried potatoes and drizzle with sauce.
• For the Batter Fried Potatoes: In a mixing bowl, combine the beer, egg, milk, flour, and melted butter and mix well. Add salt and pepper to taste.
• Add the thyme to the beer batter. Place the batter and the seasoned flour in 2 separate bowls. Season the potato slices with salt and pepper to taste. In a saute pan over medium heat, heat the oil to 375 degrees F or until a drop of batter sizzles on contact. Dredge the potato slices in the flour, dip them in the batter, and fry in batches until golden brown on both sides, about 2 minutes. Drain on paper towels and season with salt and pepper to taste.

STRIPED BASS SEARED WITH HONEY AND OUZO

Steps:

• Whisk flour and garlic powder together in a bowl. Toss bass in the flour mixture until coated.
• Whisk fish sauce, olive oil, honey, and oregano together in a bowl until smooth.
• Heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Cook and stir bass in the hot skillet until lightly browned on all sides, about 5 minutes. Transfer bass to a plate. Add ouzo and fish sauce mixture to hot skillet; bring to a boil. Return bass to pan and cook until fish is cooked through, about 5 minutes more.

PAN-FRIED STRIPED BASS WITH LEMON SAUCE

Steps:

• For the sauce, whisk together: 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, 1/4 teaspoon lemon zest, 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, Salt, Fresh-ground black pepper.
• Taste for salt and lemon juice and adjust as desired. The sauce will separate as it sits; this is not a problem.
• Season: 4 pieces striped bass, skin on (4 to 6 ounces each) with: Salt, Fresh-ground black pepper.
• Choose a heavy-bottomed pan for frying the fish. Take another, slightly smaller pan that will fit into the pan for the fish, and wrap its bottom with foil. This pan will be used as a weight to hold the fish flat against the frying pan to ensure that all of the skin will cook and crisp. (You will see the fish contract when it goes into the hot pan, as the skin shrinks on contact with the heat.) Warm the larger pan over medium-high heat. When hot, pour in: Olive oil, enough to generously coat the bottom.
• Add the pieces of bass, skin side down, and place the foil-wrapped pan on top of the fish. Cook until the skin is brown and crispy, about 7 minutes. Check now and then to see that the fish is indeed browning, but not overbrowning. Adjust the heat up or down to speed up or slow down the cooking as needed. When the skin is browned, remove the top pan and turn the fish. Cook for another minute or so, until the fish is just cooked through, but is still moist and tender inside. Meanwhile whisk the lemon sauce together again and pour it onto a warm plate. Serve the fish skin side up, on top of the sauce.
• Garnish the fish with a couple spoonfuls of chopped tender herbs such as parsley, chives, chervil, cilantro, or basil.
• Soak, rinse, and squeeze dry a tablespoon or so of capers. When the fish is cooked add the capers to the hot pan and sauté for a minute or two. Remove with a slotted spoon and scatter over the fish.
• Make a Beurre Blanc (Warm Butter Sauce; page 228) instead of the olive oil sauce.