Seared sea bass fillet with green beans and sauce vierge

Another celebrity chef James Tanner provided this recipe & I have to say the results, even for a novice cook like myself, most were impressive.

The preparation time is less than 30 mins, and with the cooking time being less than 10 mins, there is no excuse for not trying this fantastic fish dish.

Ingredients (for 4 people)

For the sauce vierge:

• 12 tbsp olive oil
• 4 fresh tomato, seeds removed, chopped
• 4 lemon, juice only
• 4 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 4 tsp coriander seeds, ground in a pestle and mortar
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 4 tbsp chopped fresh dill
• 4 tbsp chopped fresh coriander leaves
  

For the seared sea bass:

• 4 sea bass fillets
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 4 tbsp olive oil

For the beans:

• 340g/12oz fine green beans, trimmed
• 4 tbsp olive oil
  

Method

• For the sauce vierge, place the oil, tomato, lemon juice, balsamic vinegar and ground coriander seeds into a pan and heat for 5-7 minutes. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, and add the fresh dill and coriander.


• For the seared sea bass, lightly score the skin of the fish and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste. Heat the oil in a frying pan until hot, and quickly pan-fry the fish for about 1-2 minutes on each side or until cooked through.


• For the beans, drop the beans into a pan of boiling salted water and cook for about three minutes, then drain. Heat the oil in a pan and fry the beans to colour slightly, for about two minutes.


• To serve, place the beans on a serving plate, top with the seared bass, skin-side up, and spoon the sauce vierge around the edges of the plate.

Baked Cod Portuguese

Just tried this Rick Stein classic recipe from Saturday Kitchen. Absolutely fabulous.

Anyone who likes fish and mediterranean food will like is. To make this dish (it takes less than half an hour) you will need (for 4):

• 75g/3oz unsalted butter
• 900g/2lb thick cod fillet, skin on, cut into 4 pieces
• 1 large onion, cut into quarters and sliced finely
• 4 plum tomatoes, skinned, seeded and chopped
• 4 sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained and finely chopped
• 290ml/½ pint fish stock
• 120ml/4fl oz white wine
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• parsley sprigs, to garnish

It's easy to cook too.

• 1. Melt half the butter in a shallow flameproof casserole dish that is big enough to hold all the pieces of cod in a single layer.
• 2. Fry the cod, skin-side down, for 1 minute, until crisp and golden. Carefully remove from the dish and set aside.
• 3. Add the onion to the dish and fry gently for 5 minutes, until softened.
• 4. Add the plum tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes, stock and white wine. Bring to the boil and simmer for 10 minutes, until slightly reduced and thickened.
• 5. Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6.6. Place the cod skin-side up on top of the onion and tomato mixture, transfer the casserole dish to the oven and bake for 5-6 minutes - less if the pieces of cod are thin.
• 6. Remove from the oven and lift the cod out on to a warm plate. Return the dish to the stove over a high heat, add the remaining butter and reduce by boiling rapidly for about 4 minutes, stirring now and then, to make a really thick sauce.
• 7. Stir in the parsley, season with salt and pepper and cook for 30 seconds more. Spoon the sauce on to four warm plates, put the cod on top and garnish with parsley sprigs. Serve with boiled potatoes and green salad.

Rick Stein has got me into really enjoying cooking fish dishes. There are plenty of his recipes on the bbc website which allows you to search, well worth a look.

Link - About Rick Stein: http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/chef_biogs/s.shtml#rick_stein

Link - Rick Stein's recipes: http://www.bbc.co.uk/apps/ifl/food/recipes/queryengine?templatestyle=refine_by_1_gg&orig_kw=rick+stein&config=db&scope=recipes&page=1&pagesize=15&attrib_26=keywords&oper_26=eq&val_26_1=%2Brick+%2Bstein&search.x=29&search.y=9&search=search