Pan Fried Sea Bass
Pan Fried Sea Bass with Shrimps, Lemon & Dill potato cakes, cherry tomatoes & steamed broccoli
Serves 4 as a main course
- 4 fillets of wild sea bass - 200g boneless
- 80g peeled brown shrimps
- 2 heads of fresh broccoli
- 12 cherry tomatoes on the vine, cut into portions of 3 each
For the potato cakes:
- 4 medium floury potatoes, peeled
- 4 new potatoes, peeled
- 5 sprigs of fresh dill
- 5 sprigs of fresh flat leaf parsley
- 1 unwaxed lemon, zest & juice
- 2 free range eggs, whole
- 1 free range egg yolk
- 1 pinch of nutmeg
- Salt & pepper to taste
- 200g fresh breadcrumbs
- 20g butter for frying
- Splash of white wine or vermouth (optional)
Method
To make the potato cakes, steam the potatoes together for 16-18 minutes. When they are tender, cool down as much as to be able to handle them, crush them roughly with a potato masher or with a spoon. Mix with the eggs and egg yolk, lemon juice and zest, fresh chopped dill, parsley and nutmeg and season to taste with salt and pepper. Roll the mix in balls, flatten down to shape into 8-9 cm cakes and dust with breadcrumbs.
Cut the broccoli into florets, place on a steamer tray and steam for 4-6 minutes according to the size of the broccoli. Have a bowl of iced water ready to cool down rapidly when they are cooked to preserve the colour and the texture, drain and reserve.
Score the skin of the sea bass and season with flaky sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Place the cherry tomatoes with seasoning and olive oil on a tray, under a hot grill and cook for 5 minutes. Brown the cakes in a little butter in a pan, then finish cooking in a hot oven for 5 minutes. Heat the butter and olive oil in a medium hot pan. Place the fish in the pan, skin side down - turn up the heat for 30 seconds to crisp up the skin, then, turn down to medium low and cook for 1½ - 2 minutes. when you turn the fish over, place the shrimps in the pan and cook for another minute. De-glaze the pan with a splash of white wine or vermouth (optional). Re-heat the broccoli for 1 minute in boiling salted water.
Everything should be ready at the same time. To serve, place the potato cakes on a warmed plate, place the fillet of bass on the top, scatter the brown shrimps around the cake and place 3 florets of broccoli around the fish. Place the cherry tomatoes on top of the sea bass and drizzle the pan juices on the broccoli and shrimps. Enjoy with a glass of Prosecco ...
