pan-fried sea bass with beurre blanc & roasted mediterranean vegetables

Hi everyone!

I know, I know; it's been soooo looooong since I last posted, and for this I apologise. No excuses, aside from to say I've kind of been out of commission for the last couple of months doing lots of cheffy, cooky things. Can't divulge too much about that just yet, but suffice to say it's VERY exciting stuff, and of course I'll be giving more details in due course!!

Vague enough? Yep thought so. On with the food...

Once again, I've tried to put a dish together with swanky-but-inexpensive in mind, with taste and flavour still sitting pretty in first position, as always. This is a lovely dish, very simple, full of flavour, healthy (well, ish - ignore the mountain of butter in the sauce), and won't break the bank. You can substitute the bass for most other fish too, such as pollock, hake or cod, and it also works extremely well with salmon or sea trout.

This recipe makes for a nice starter or a light lunch/supper, but if you want to ramp it up as a main, you could just sit the fish on some sautéed potatoes and increase the amount of vegetables you plonk on the plate. Easy!

Finally, one more shout out for my good buddies at Kish Fish in Smithfield for selling me the beautifully fresh sea bass.

Ingredients

For the bass

• 2 fillets of sea bass
• Salt
• Pepper

For the Mediterranean vegetables

• ¼ courgette, cut into bite-size pieces
• ¼ aubergine, cut into bite-size pieces
• ¼ red pepper, de-seeded & cut into bite-size pieces
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• Salt
• Pepper

For the beurre blanc

• 2 shallots, finely chopped
• 60ml white wine
• 60ml white wine vinegar
• 125g unsalted butter, cut into cubes

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180c / 160c (fan) / gas mark 4.
2. Place the vegetables in a small roasting tray and toss with the olive oil, salt & pepper, to coat.
3. Place in the oven and roast for around 30mins, until soft (but not mushy!).
4. For the beurre blanc, place the shallots, vinegar & wine in a small saucepan and heat over a medium heat until only around a quarter of the liquid remains.
5. Lower the heat to its lowest setting and whisk in the butter, one cube at a time until each one has been incorporated into the liquid. Keep warm.
6. For the bass, heat a non-stick saucepan until hot. Season the fillets lightly on both sides - do this the last minute before adding to the pan so you don't draw all of the moisture out of the fish.
7. Add 1 tbsp of olive oil and place the fish in the pan, skin side down. Hold down for a few seconds to prevent the fillets curling up (or - chef's tip - place a saucer on top of the fish for a minute or so to weight it down).
8. Once the skin is coloured and nice & crispy (approx. 3 minutes), turn of the heat & turn the fish onto the flesh side. Cook for a further minute (maximum) and remove to rest for around a minute.
9. To serve, place the fish in the middle of a plate, skin side up. Spoon the sauce all around and place the vegetable pieces around.
10. Take a photo, post it everywhere, wait for the ooh's and ahh's... Oh yep, and enjoy!

If you have some nice dry white wine, pour yourself a glass to have with this dish. If not - buy some!

Serves 2

pan fried sea bass with carrots, leeks & caper butter sauce

The outlaws were heading into town.

Wait, let me start that again...

My girlfriend's lovely parents were coming round for dinner.

Unfortunately for me, my cooking has been bigged up somewhat by my loved one (and admittedly, also by me), so I had quite a lot to live up to. As you know, I always try to come up with dishes that have the look, feel & taste of restaurant standard plates of food, but which don't break the bank, so this was my chance to go with that & give la familia something very special without having to use any ingredients that rhyme with 'mobster'.

Vegetables are always a good option. They're cheap, versatile, tasty, and good for us! So they were on the shopping list without a second thought. The nice people over at Kish Fish in Smithfield had also just sent me a text message informing me that sea bass fillets were on offer, so that also seemed like a no-brainer - who doesn't like fresh, simply-cooked fish, right?! And as we know, many people have the notion that fish is ridiculously difficult to cook - when in fact it's one of the simplest (shhh don't tell anyone!), so always a good one when trying to impress an Irish Mammy...

Then I just needed a sauce. Butter sauces are light, so great with fish dishes like this. The lemon is lovely with the bass, and the capers add a nice bit of zing against the sweet vegetables.

Try this dish out, and if you can't get hold of sea bass, go for whatever fish you can - trout, salmon, mackerel etc; they all work just as well.

Suffice to say, The Parents were suitably impressed, and loved the food. Phew! Ah but then there was the main course...

Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 4 fillets sea bass, cut into 2 or 3 pieces each
• 4 medium carrots, peeled & cut into matchsticks
• 1 large leek (or 2 medium), cleaned & cut into matchsticks
• Juice of ½ lemon
• 150g butter, diced
• 2 tsp capers, drained
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• Small handful of samphire, to serve (optional)

Method

1. Heat a large sauté pan (or deep frying pan) over a medium-high heat, add 100g of the butter and throw in the leeks & carrots. Sauté for 5 minutes or so, until starting to soften. Lower the heat to keep warm & soften a little more, whilst you cook the fish.
2. Heat a separate non-stick frying pan until hot. Season the fish lightly on the flesh side with a little salt (not much), and add the oil to the pan.
3. Carefully place the fish in the pan, skin side down, being careful not to splash yourself with the hot oil (lay the fish away from you to prevent this).
4. Press the fillets down for a few seconds if necessary to stop them curling up and stay nice & flat - this helps give you a lovely crisp skin. If you're having the samphire, blanch this in boiling water now for around a minute or so until softened, then drain and put to one side.
5. When the skin has coloured and crisped up, turn the fish and cook for another minute or so on the flesh side, until cooked through. Remove and place on a warm plate.
6. In the same pan as you cooked the fish, add the remaining 50g of butter and add the capers. When the butter has melted, squeeze in the lemon juice and mix together gently to ensure all the capers have taken on the flavours.
7. To serve, spoon the carrot & leek mixture onto a plate and place the sea bass on top before spooning over the caper butter.
8. Finally, to finish off the samphire, just throw it into the remainders of the caper butter and stir around for a few seconds until warmed through. Place on top of the plate, and of course, don't forget to arrange pretentiously!

This is lovely with a nice big glass of cold, dry white wine - which is also useful for drowning your sorrows once you start wishing you'd have made more!

Serves 4

seared tuna with tuna tartare, scallops and pak choi salad

When we talk about cooking with tuna, many of us think of the tinned stuff, in oil, or water, or (more trendy) olive oil. Now, that type of tuna is pretty cool in its own right of course; it's cheap, it's versatile, and it makes a great addition to a salad, stirred into a tomato pasta sauce, or just mixed with some mayonnaise and thrown on toast with tomato & cheese for a quick & comforting classic tuna melt.

For dinner however, the fresh option will give you a whole different experience. Full of essential nutrients, fresh tuna really is something else! The texture is just amazing (the fresher the better), and can even be eaten raw (think sashimi), and the fish lends itself brilliantly well to Asian flavours.

Price-wise, it clearly costs more than the tinned variety, but is worth every penny, and really won't break the bank - and why should it?! A little goes a long way, and I've designed this recipe to show off a couple of ways to make the most of tuna and its beautiful qualities. As a light lunch or a swanky starter, it's all good. Enjoy!

Ingredients

For the seared tuna

• 1 piece of fresh tuna (around 350g is plenty for 4 people)
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp clear honey
• 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
• 2 tbsp sesame seeds

For the tuna tartare

• 150g fresh tuna, diced into very small pieces (the smaller the better)
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• 1 tbsp clear honey
• ½ lime, juice only
• 1 spring onion, finely chopped
• ½ green chilli, finely chopped
• Salt & freshly ground black pepper

For the scallops

• 8 scallops, corals removed
• 1 tbsp olive oil

For the pak choi salad

• 2 pak choi, cleaned and thinly sliced
• ½ lime, juice only
• Small handful of fresh coriander, roughly chopped
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• ½ green chilli, finely chopped
• Handful of beansprouts
• 3 or 4 radishes, very finely sliced
• 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp wholegrain mustard
• 1 tbsp clear honey

Method

1. First make the marinade for the tuna. Whisk the soy sauce, honey & sesame oil together in a bowl and place the tuna in, ensuring it gets a good coating. Leave for at least 5 minutes to soak up the flavours.
2. Next make the dressing for the salad. Mix everything together apart from the pak choi (reserve a small amount of coriander for garnish). Set to one side.
3. For the tuna tartare, mix all the ingredients together, seasoning to taste.
4. To finish the seared tuna, remove from the marinade and coat in the sesame seeds. Heat a griddle pan (or non-stick frying pan) until hot, add a small amount of olive oil and carefully place the tuna in the pan. Sear on all sides and remove to rest for a couple of minutes. The whole cooking process there should only take around 2-3 minutes in total, and don't panic of some of the seeds  burn a little; they just add to the flavour & textures!
5. For the scallops, season lightly with salt & freshly ground black pepper. Heat the oil in a frying pan until hot and cook the scallops for 30 - 60 seconds on each side, until they colour & start to caramelise slightly.
6. Finish the salad by adding the pak choi to the dressing, making sure everything gets a good coating.
7. To serve, place a small pile of salad on a plate. Next, slice the tuna into pieces no more than 1cm thick and place on top of the salad. Put 2 good spoonfuls of the tuna tartare on the plate and place a scallop on top of each. Finally, spoon over a little of the salad dressing and sprinkle over some of the reserved coriander.
8. Take photos, eat, smile, wonder how you didn't make this earlier...

Serves 4.

Special mention once again to the guys at Kish Fish for supplying the tuna & scallops. You rock!

scallops with pea & mint purée, black pudding & rocket salad

I just love scallops! Sweet, soft, indulgent-tasting flesh (not too 'fishy' for those of you who don't like fish to taste of fish!), and really good for you too! Not only that but this luxurious seafood has really come down in price recently, and finally, they're REALLY easy to cook, meaning you can have a swanky restaurant regular in your own home without too much trouble!

Paired with some thing meaty (but not too meaty!), the succulence of scallops is highlighted even more, for the ultimate surf 'n' turf. Great with pork belly (or the more expensive venison) for a main course, or as a starter with something lighter, such as the black pudding I've paired with it here. It's a classic combination, and for one good reason: it tastes fantastic!

Thanks again to my friends at Kish Fish for supplying the fantastic scallops!

Ingredients

• 6 scallops, cleaned & corals removed.
• 6 slices of black pudding, cut to approx. 1cm tick

For the pea purée:

• 200g/7oz frozen garden peas
• 2 sprigs of fresh mint
• Small knob of butter

For the rocket salad:

• Good handful of rocket leaves
• 1 tsp wholegrain mustard
• 1 tbsp white wine vinegar
• 1 tsp caster sugar
• 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tbsp runny honey
• 1 garlic clove, crushed (or chopped very finely)
• ½ lemon (juice only)
• Sea salt & freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Method

1. Bring a small pan of water to the boil & add the peas & mint sprigs. Cook for around 3 minutes, until he peas have softened & are tender.
2. Drain the peas & mint, pick the mint leaves from the sprigs (careful, they may be hot!). Add to a blender with a knob of butter & blitz until smooth. Alternatively you can of course use a hand blender.
3. For the rocket salad, combine all the ingredients in a large bowl except the rocket and stir well until thoroughly mixed. Finally add the rocket leaves by hand and mix together until well coated.
4. Heat a little oil in a frying pan until hot and fry the black pudding for around 2 minutes on each side, until cooked through and crispy ion the outside. Remove from the pan and drain on kitchen paper.
5. Add a little more olive oil to the pan, heat again until hot. Season your scallops with a little salt & freshly ground black pepper and add to the pan. Cook for 30 - 60 seconds, until they start to brown & caramelise, then turn and cook for the same time on the other side. The timing will vary depending on the size of your scallops, but even the largest ones out there shouldn't take more than a minute on each side.
6. To serve, spoon 3 dollops of the pea purée onto a plate, then add a slice of black pudding, finally topping off with a scallop.
7. Dress the rest of the plate with some of the rocket salad, in any way that looks pretty!

Serves 2.

kish fish, smithfield, dublin 7

Fishmongers in central Dublin are few & far between these days it seems. Many supermarkets stock pre-packed fish & seafood, however this is largely limited to salmon, cod, smoked kippers, prawns and mussels in a sauce or two. Whilst these still offer some good options for some lovely meals, clearly those options are somewhat limited.

How great then when I stumbled upon Kish Fish, a veritable treasure trove of all things fishy, and located just a few short minutes from the bustling city centre. Established in 1966, this local fishmonger stocks fresh fish daily, and supplies many top class restaurants across the country.

They also have a fantastically stocked shop open to the paying public, with a range and prices to suit all palates and pockets. Stepping into the shop sees you faced with a huge range of fresh fish & seafood (check out just part of what's on offer in the photo above), as well as loads of frozen produce, ranging from squid rings, to kilo bags of scallops, to whole octopus. They also stock some ready-to-go products, including a variety of sauces and prepared fresh crab meat.

Kish Fish are proud members of the BIM Seafood Circle and last year claimed the coveted BIM Seafood Specialist Of The Year Award (you can read more about all of that here).

The staff are not only friendly, but they're knowledgeable too, and are more happy to offer help and advice about the produce, as well as cooking tips and recipe ideas. 

Special offers are available as well, with great deals on a couple of fish varieties, and these change on a weekly basis. You can even sign up to receive details of the weekly offers via free text message: just text KISH to 51444. I receive mine every Thursday morning, which is great timing for my weekly Saturday trip to the shop!

Opening hours are 9:00am - 5:30pm (Tue/Wed/Thu/Fri) and 9:00am - 2:00pm (Sat), and you can find their location & directions using the map below:

View Larger Map

I buy fish and/or seafood from Kish Fish most weekends, so keep an eye out on here and our Facebook & Twitter pages for more fish recipes soon!

Finally, a big well done & thanks to all the guys at Kish Fish! Long may it continue!

-
Kish Fish
40-42 Bow Street
Smithfield
Dublin 7, Ireland
(Second shop also open in Malahide).
www.kishfish.ie
Official Facebook page