For Crispy Black Sea Bass:
Ingredients:
4 - 5 ounces Black Sea Bass Fillets
2 pieces Red Bell Peppers, sliced very thin
2 pieces Yellow Bell Peppers, sliced very thin
½ piece small Yellow Onion, sliced very thin
2 Cloves of garlic cleaned and sliced very thin.
1 piece Chorizo, small dice (Optional – Available at all specialty stores)
2 sprigs of Thyme
8 pieces medium Red Bliss Potatoes
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Saffron Mussel Broth, see recipe
Special Equipment:
2 Large pots
1 lg. non-stick pan
Method of Preparation:
1. First, clean and slice all peppers, onion, and garlic into very thin julienne. In a large heavy Bottom pot, start to sweat all the vegetables slowly in olive oil until tender with no caramelization (no Color). Once pipérade is about 3/4ths done, add the thyme and chorizo, and then continue to cook until finished. When pipérade is finished, remove the thyme sprigs, cool, and save for dinner. This entire process should take about 45 minutes.
2. Cook Red Bliss Potatoes in water until tender. Cool and save until dinner. When plating the dish, crush the potatoes in a medium size pot with a little olive oil and heat over medium to high heat until hot, season with salt and pepper.
3. Preparing the Black Sea Bass: First, have your fish butcher clean all the scales and pin bones from the black bass fillets. Pre-heat a non-stick pan over high heat for about 2 minutes, then add cold oil to the hot pan. Season the fish fillets on both sides with salt and pepper, then add each fillet skin side down one at a time until the pan is full. The fish should take about 3 minutes on each side. You are looking for a crispy skin with a flaky and moist flesh. If the fish fillet starts to bow away from the pan, apply light pressure with a back of a spatula until the fillet is flat in the pan. This will assure crispiness.
For Saffron Mussel Broth:
Ingredients:
3 lbs. Mussels
1 lg. Onion peeled and sliced thin
½ pc. Fennel
3 cloves of Garlic peeled and sliced thin
2 cups White Wine
1 pinch of saffron
½ cup Chicken Stock or Vegetable Stock or Water
Special Equipment:
1 large heavy bottom pot
Method of Preparation:
1. Clean the mussels very well.
2. In a large heavy bottom pot, start to sweat the onions, fennel, and garlic until tender with a cooking olive oil. Add the saffron and deglaze with the white wine. Reduce by half, and then add the mussels and stock.
3. Cook the mussels until they all open, but do not over cook. Once the mussels open strain the broth into another pot.
4. Put the broth back into a heavy bottom pot and reduce until desired taste. The sauce should be finished with butter, salt, and pepper.
5. You can save the mussels and use them with the dish