I felt the overwhelming need to cook something new on Saturday night. I didn't want the tired and tested I wanted to explore new culinary waters. However combined with this desire was an equal and opposing force, driven by being absolutely knackered, that meant it had to be simple too.
I returned to one of Jamie's early books, to a recipe that IO had meant to do on countless occasions but never quite got round to.
I have done several versions of Sea Bass on a bed of potatoes, some that I have written about on this blog. The one question I would have is about the thickness of the potatoes and the length of time they need to be cooked through ... in my oven I reckon they need about 10 minutes more than the recipe suggests. I would suggest a bit of a trial run if you are going to do it for a dinner party ... however once you have given it a whirl I think this makes for a very easy recipe for a crowd.
Here's the recipe.
Roasted slashed fillet of sea bass stuffed with herbs, baked on mushroom potatoes with salsa verde - a la Tony Blair, from his book "The Return of the Naked Chef".
Serves 4.
This is something I cooked for Tony Blair and the Italian Prime Minister at the British/Italian Summit last year. It went down a treat so I thought I'd put it in the book. This is a really great way to cook sea bass. Try and get the biggest bass you can find. Failing that, royal bream is fantastic cooked this way too.
Ingredients
4 x 225gr/8oz sea bass fillets
1 handful mixed herbs (green or purple basil, flat-leaf parsley, thyme), roughly chopped
1kg/2 1/2 pounds potatoes scrubbed
Olive oil
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 knobs butter
455gr/1lb mixed, preferably wild, mushrooms, torn
3 lemons
1 recipe salsa verde, see below
Preheat the oven to 240C/475F/Gas 9.
Put a bit of greaseproof paper on the bottom of a baking tray, rubbed with olive oil. Slash the fish fillets about half way down and stuff with the herbs. Wash the potatoes and slice them lengthways, just under a 1/2-inch thick. Dry them off with kitchen paper and very lightly coat them in olive oil. Mix in half of your finely chopped garlic, season with salt and pepper, then lay them out in one layer on the tray.Cook the potatoes in the oven for around 15 minutes until just cooked. Remove and put to one side.
In a pan add the remaining garlic with 2 good knobs of butter and a good lug of olive oil. Fry your mixed mushrooms and season until tasty. If water comes out of them just continue cooking until it evaporates. Take the pan off the heat, squeeze in the juice from 1 lemon and stir in another knob of butter. Now scatter the mushrooms over the potatoes and kind of rub them in on top, underneath, all over. Place your sea bass fillets on top, Now bake in the oven for 12 to15 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fish. Remove the tray, cover the top with foil and let sit for about 5 minutes during which time all the juices will run out onto the potatoes. Serve it with salsa verde, half a lemon each and a crisp white wine.
Salsa Verde
The secret of a good salsa verde is to chop all the ingredients very finely and to use it the same day, as it doesn't tend to keep for long, even in the fridge. A fantastic accompaniment to any grilled meat or fish. Particularly good with the sea bass recipe.
2 cloves garlic, peeled
1 small handful of capers
1 small handful pickled gherkins (the ones in sweet vinegar)
6 anchovy fillets
2 large handfuls flat-leaf parsley, leaves picked
1 bunch fresh basil, leaves picked
1 handful fresh mint, leaves picked
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
8 tablespoons best quality olive oil
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Finely chop the first 7 ingredients and put them into a bowl. Add the mustard and red wine vinegar then slowly stir in the olive oil. Balance the flavors with freshly ground black pepper and, if necessary, sea salt and a little more red wine vinegar.
courgettes
We served this with some sliced courgettes with a bit of chilli.
I sliced up half a dozen small courgettes on a mandoline and fried for a couple of minutes (or until they start to be tinged with brown) in a good glug of olive oil and a knob of butter with a couple of finely sliced garlic cloves and a crumbled dried red chilli.
Take them off the heat season, add the juice of half a lemon, and serve.
If you have preprepared the courgettes and garlic all of this can be done while the fish rests.
I returned to one of Jamie's early books, to a recipe that IO had meant to do on countless occasions but never quite got round to.
I have done several versions of Sea Bass on a bed of potatoes, some that I have written about on this blog. The one question I would have is about the thickness of the potatoes and the length of time they need to be cooked through ... in my oven I reckon they need about 10 minutes more than the recipe suggests. I would suggest a bit of a trial run if you are going to do it for a dinner party ... however once you have given it a whirl I think this makes for a very easy recipe for a crowd.
Here's the recipe.
Roasted slashed fillet of sea bass stuffed with herbs, baked on mushroom potatoes with salsa verde - a la Tony Blair, from his book "The Return of the Naked Chef".
Serves 4.
This is something I cooked for Tony Blair and the Italian Prime Minister at the British/Italian Summit last year. It went down a treat so I thought I'd put it in the book. This is a really great way to cook sea bass. Try and get the biggest bass you can find. Failing that, royal bream is fantastic cooked this way too.
Ingredients
4 x 225gr/8oz sea bass fillets
1 handful mixed herbs (green or purple basil, flat-leaf parsley, thyme), roughly chopped
1kg/2 1/2 pounds potatoes scrubbed
Olive oil
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 knobs butter
455gr/1lb mixed, preferably wild, mushrooms, torn
3 lemons
1 recipe salsa verde, see below
Preheat the oven to 240C/475F/Gas 9.
Put a bit of greaseproof paper on the bottom of a baking tray, rubbed with olive oil. Slash the fish fillets about half way down and stuff with the herbs. Wash the potatoes and slice them lengthways, just under a 1/2-inch thick. Dry them off with kitchen paper and very lightly coat them in olive oil. Mix in half of your finely chopped garlic, season with salt and pepper, then lay them out in one layer on the tray.Cook the potatoes in the oven for around 15 minutes until just cooked. Remove and put to one side.
In a pan add the remaining garlic with 2 good knobs of butter and a good lug of olive oil. Fry your mixed mushrooms and season until tasty. If water comes out of them just continue cooking until it evaporates. Take the pan off the heat, squeeze in the juice from 1 lemon and stir in another knob of butter. Now scatter the mushrooms over the potatoes and kind of rub them in on top, underneath, all over. Place your sea bass fillets on top, Now bake in the oven for 12 to15 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fish. Remove the tray, cover the top with foil and let sit for about 5 minutes during which time all the juices will run out onto the potatoes. Serve it with salsa verde, half a lemon each and a crisp white wine.
Salsa Verde
The secret of a good salsa verde is to chop all the ingredients very finely and to use it the same day, as it doesn't tend to keep for long, even in the fridge. A fantastic accompaniment to any grilled meat or fish. Particularly good with the sea bass recipe.
2 cloves garlic, peeled
1 small handful of capers
1 small handful pickled gherkins (the ones in sweet vinegar)
6 anchovy fillets
2 large handfuls flat-leaf parsley, leaves picked
1 bunch fresh basil, leaves picked
1 handful fresh mint, leaves picked
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
8 tablespoons best quality olive oil
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Finely chop the first 7 ingredients and put them into a bowl. Add the mustard and red wine vinegar then slowly stir in the olive oil. Balance the flavors with freshly ground black pepper and, if necessary, sea salt and a little more red wine vinegar.
courgettes
We served this with some sliced courgettes with a bit of chilli.
I sliced up half a dozen small courgettes on a mandoline and fried for a couple of minutes (or until they start to be tinged with brown) in a good glug of olive oil and a knob of butter with a couple of finely sliced garlic cloves and a crumbled dried red chilli.
Take them off the heat season, add the juice of half a lemon, and serve.
If you have preprepared the courgettes and garlic all of this can be done while the fish rests.
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