Chef Chris’s latest supper
This dish is healthy & amp; flavor some cooking at its best. Sea Bass is very current at the minute and you will find it in most restaurants if not all.
It’s easily purchased from your local supermarket or local fish mongers and you can buy the fish whole or filleted whichever personally suits. A glass of chilled Chardonnay compliments this dish perfectly.
Preparation time is less than 45 mins; cooking time 10- 12 mins and serves four
For the sea bass fillet: Four sea bass fillets ( pin, boned); one whole lemon; salt and pepper; 25ml of olive oil.
For the crab cake: 150g white scallop meat; two large free range eggs; eight tbs breadcrumbs; two tbs chopped coriander; small piece of fresh ginger approx 2cm square; two red chillies, seeds removed; two single spring onions, finely sliced; 25ml of olive oil; plain flour for dusting.
For pineapple salsa: One can of Jamaican Ginger Beer; 200g fresh pineapple, small diced; two fresh red chillies, seeds removed; two tbs brown sugar; two tbs Soya sauce; two tbs chopped coriander; course sea salt and cracked black pepper.
For the breadcrumbs: Four slices of white bread, crust off ( slightly stale bread is best); some chopped fresh herbs your choice; salt and pepper for seasoning.
For the spinach pesto: 200ml olive oil; 25g toasted pine nuts; one garlic clove, peeled and crushed; 25g fresh Parmesan; 100g fresh spinach; salt and pepper for seasoning. Pre- heat oven to 200C
For the bass fillet: Pre- heat a frying pan with olive oil. Place the sea bass on a chopping board and season well with salt and pepper. Place the seabass fillets skin side down into the hot pan pressing down on top of the white meat to make sure the full skin touches the pan to ensure the whole skin gets crispy cause they will tighten up and curl at edges as soon as they go into the pan. Cook on skin side for approx two minutes and turn over to cook for a further two minutes before removing from heat and left to rest. For the Ginger Beer Pineapple Salsa: Place 200g of fresh diced pineapple and can of Ginger Beer into a mixing bowl, add the rest of the ingredients and stir together, then chill until you are ready to serve. For the breadcrumbs: Cut the bread up into 3cm squares and place in a food processor to blitz down, add seasoning and fresh herbs to create the perfect crumb.
For the scallop cake: Pop the ginger and chillies in food processor and blitz down. Then place the mixture with the scallop meat in a mixing bowl, add one egg, breadcrumbs, coriander and sliced spring onions then bind all mixture together. Split the mixture into 8 and shape into Scallop cakes. Place the Scallop cakes on to your tray tray and chill for 15 minutes. Once chilled place the Scallop cakes one at a time into a bowl of flour and cover completely, remove and shake of excess flour and dip into your beaten egg mix. Make sure the Scallop cake is completely covered in egg mix before dropping into the fresh breadcrumbs. Shake till the crumb has covered the cake completely then place on tray to chill. When you are ready to cook pre heat a nonstick frying pan with olive oil cook both sides for few minutes till golden brown and transfer to oven for a further five minutes. For the pesto: Place all the ingredients in a large jug/ bowl and hand blend down to create the perfect fresh Spinach pesto.
To serve: Place the crab cake into the middle of the plate. Add the crispy skin sea bass fillets over the top of the cake. Place a spoon full of the pineapple salsa at the side of the seabass and dress the plate.