Thomas Kellers Mediterranean Bass With Squid Fennel And Tomatoes Food

THOMAS KELLER'S MEDITERRANEAN BASS WITH SQUID, FENNEL, AND TOMATOES

Steps:

• Place squid in a small bowl; add enough milk to cover. Let soak, refrigerated, for at least 2 hours or up to 1 day.
• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Prepare an ice-water bath. Add fennel; cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to ice bath; drain, and set aside.
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a small saucepan, bring shellfish broth to a simmer over medium heat; reduce by half.
• Meanwhile, drain squid on paper towels; season with salt and pepper. Heat 1/8 inch olive oil in a medium ovenproof skillet over medium heat; add fennel, garlic, and thyme. When oil begins to sizzle, transfer pan to oven. Add tomato confit after 2 minutes.
• Lightly coat a large skillet with canola oil; set over medium-high heat. Season both sides of the fish with salt; season the flesh side with pepper. Add fish to pan, skin-side down, reducing heat to medium-low; weight fillets briefly with another skillet to prevent curling. Remove skillet, and cook until skin is golden and crisp, 4 to 5 minutes. Using a spatula, turn over fish and cook for 1 minute; drain on paper towels.
• Bring shellfish broth to a simmer; add squid, and simmer until bodies begin to curl, about 1 minute. Stir in parsley; remove from heat.
• Remove pan from oven; drain fennel and tomatoes on paper towels.
• Divide fish among 4 serving plates, centering them skin-side up; arrange fennel, tomatoes, and squid around fish. Pour one-quarter broth around each serving. Serve immediately.

CRISPY SKIN BLACK SEA BASS WITH AVOCADO, TOMATILLO AND FENNEL RELISH

Steps:

• For the relish: Combine the tomatillo, avocado, serrano, fennel and onions in a medium bowl. Drizzle with the canola oil, lime juice, vinegar and honey. Season with salt and pepper, and fold in the cilantro.
• For the crispy skin fish: Heat a saute pan over medium-high heat until very hot. Add some canola oil and heat until hot and smoking.
• Meanwhile, sprinkle the fish on both sides with salt and pepper. Lay the fish in the hot pan, skin-side down, pressing down with your fish spatula. Add the butter to the pan and let melt. When the edges of the fish look golden brown and crispy, after 3 minutes, flip the fish. Reduce the heat and cook another 2 minutes. Using a spoon, baste the crispy skin with some of the butter.
• Remove the fish to a plate. Serve with the relish. Finish with some extra-virgin olive oil.

PAN-SEARED SEA BASS IN TOMATO FENNEL BROTH

Steps:

• 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.

SEA BASS AND SPICY TOMATO SAUCE OVER BRAISED FENNEL

Steps:

• Chop enough fennel fronds, if using, to measure 2 tablespoons. Quarter fennel bulbs lengthwise, then cut lengthwise into 1/4-inch-thick slices.
• Cook fennel bulbs, sliced onion, and anchovy paste in 1 1/2 teaspoons oil in a 12-inch heavy nonstick skillet over moderate heat, stirring, until coated, about 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper, then add broth and braise, covered, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes.
• Remove lid and boil, stirring occasionally, until liquid is evaporated, about 10 minutes. Transfer fennel mixture to a 1 1/2-quart shallow gratin or other shallow 9-inch ceramic or glass baking dish.
• Preheat oven to 450°F.
• While fennel mixture is braising, cook chopped onion, red pepper flakes, and salt to taste in remaining teaspoon oil in an 8-inch nonstick skillet over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until onion is softened, 3 to 4 minutes. Add tomatoes with juice and simmer, breaking up tomatoes with a spoon and stirring occasionally, until very thick, 15 to 20 minutes.
• Arrange fish fillets on top of fennel mixture and season with salt. Spoon tomato sauce over fish. Cover with a sheet of parchment paper or wax paper, then cover baking dish tightly with foil and bake in middle of oven until fish is just cooked through, 20 to 25 minutes. Sprinkle with fennel fronds.

MEDITERRANEAN FISH STEW WITH GARLIC TOASTS

Steps:

• To make the garlic toasts, drizzle the bread with oil, then griddle or grill until golden all over. While the toasts are still hot, rub them with garlic and set aside.
• Heat the oil in a wide, deep frying pan. Add the onion and cook over a gentle heat for 5 mins until softened. Stir through the garlic and chilli and cook a couple of mins more. Add the tomato purée and tomatoes. Turn up the heat and cook for 10-15 mins, stirring until the tomatoes are pulpy. Pour over the wine and cook for 10 mins more until most of it has boiled away.
• Add the fish stock and orange zest and heat until gently simmering. Nestle the halibut chunks into the liquid and cook for 5 mins. Add the clams and prawns and cook for 5 mins more until the fish is cooked through and the clams have opened (discard any that haven't). Sprinkle the parsley over the stew and serve with the garlic toasts.

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.

MEDITERRANEAN SEA BASS WITH FENNEL AND PERNOD

Steps:

• Season the sea bass filet with salt and pepper and rub it with extra virgin olive oil. Remove the stalks from the bulb of fennel. Rinse and split in half.
• Slice the fennel bulb thinly and place it in a baking dish. Add the star anise, sea bass filet, the garlic clove with the skin on and the Pernod®. Cover the top of the baking dish with aluminum foil, sealing the edge. Place the baking dish on the stove until the aluminum foil begins to pop from the internal steam. Bake at 450 degrees Farenheit for 7 minutes.
• Remove the aluminum foil and the olives and sprinkle with the freshly chopped dill. Serve the sea bass filet with the fennel garnish and the cooking liquid.

SEA BASS IN TOMATO FENNEL SAUCE

Steps:

• Sauté the fennel, onion, and garlic in the olive oil in a large skillet for 5 minutes or until the fennel and onion are tender.
• Add the Pernod and mix well.
• Cook for about 3 minutes or until most of the liquid evaporates, stirring frequently.
• Add the tomatoes, tomato juice, wine, salt, and pepper and mix well.
• Simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Process the tomato mixture in a blender or food processor until puréed.
• You may prepare up to this point 1 day in advance and store, covered, in the refrigerator.
• Bring the sauce to a simmer, stirring occasionally.
• Add the fillets and spoon some of the sauce over the top of each.
• Simmer, covered, for 10 to 15 minutes or until the fillets are opaque and flake easily.
• Remove the fillets to serving plates and spoon some sauce over each serving.

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.