Striped Bass Veracruz Style Food

SEA BASS VERACRUZANA

Steps:

• Season the fish fillets with salt and pepper. Heat one very large or two medium sized saute pans over medium high heat for a minute, then add the butter. When the butter is sizzling, add the fillets flesh side down and turn the heat to very high. Sear the fillets until golden brown and flip to sear the other side. Remove fillets from pan and reserve on a rack over a plate to catch juices.
• Return the pan (or pans) to the heat, add the onions and cook, stirring often, over high heat for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the garlic, jalapeno slices, lime wedges, tomatoes, oregano and olives and saute briskly for 1 minute more. Add the white wine and reduce to half. Add the fish stock and bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and return fish fillets, along with their juices, to the pan. Finish cooking, covered, about 1 to 3 minutes depending upon the thickness of fillets.
• Taste broth and adjust seasoning, then serve immediately in soup plates with a generous puddle of broth and garnish of vegetables on top.

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.

ROASTED STRIPED BASS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Heat the oil in a medium saute pan and saute the onion and pancetta over medium-low heat for 10 minutes, or until the onion is translucent. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Add the tomatoes, saffron, salt, pepper, white wine, and Pernod, if using, and simmer over medium heat for 5 minutes.
• Meanwhile, lay the fish in a 10-by-14-inch baking dish and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add the shrimp and mussels to the dish. Pour the sauce over the seafood and bake uncovered for 20 to 30 minutes, until the fish and shrimp are cooked through and the mussels are open. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.