Barefoot Contessa Sea Bass Recipes

PROSCIUTTO ROASTED BASS WITH AUTUMN VEGETABLES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
• For the vegetables, place the butternut squash, potatoes, parsnips, and carrots on a sheet pan and drizzle with 1/3 cup olive oil. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon salt and 1 teaspoon pepper and toss together. Spread out in a single layer and roast for 30 minutes, turning once during cooking. After 30 minutes, toss with the garlic and roast for another 10 minutes, until all the vegetables are tender and starting to brown.
• Meanwhile, line another sheet pan with aluminum foil, and place a baking rack on top of the foil. Brush the fish fillets on both sides with olive oil and season them liberally with salt and pepper. Wrap each fillet with a slice of prosciutto to form a wide band around the center of the fillet, overlapping the ends on the skin side. Arrange the fillets on the rack with the prosciutto seam side down and roast for 10 to 15 minutes, until barely cooked.
• While the vegetables and fish are roasting, melt the butter over medium heat in a medium-size saute pan. Add the rosemary sprigs and cook over low heat until the rosemary leaves are crisp and the butter begins to brown, about 5 minutes. Discard the rosemary, stir in the lemon juice, and set aside.
• To serve, place the fish on a platter or individual plates, spoon the rosemary butter on top, and surround with the vegetables. Garnish with lemon wedges and serve hot.

CAESAR-ROASTED FISH

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F. (Be sure your oven is very clean.) Line a sheet pan with aluminum foil.
• For the Caesar sauce, place the garlic, parsley, anchovy paste, and mustard in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade and pulse until the garlic is minced. Add the mayonnaise, lemon zest, lemon juice, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and pulse to make a smooth sauce.
• Place the fish on the pan and sprinkle both sides generously with salt and pepper. Set aside one third of the sauce to serve with the cooked fish. Spread the fish on one side with half the remaining sauce, turn the fish, and spread the remaining sauce on the second side. Sprinkle with the scallions and allow to stand for 10 minutes.
• Roast the fish for 10 to 12 minutes, until the center is just barely cooked. Cover the fish with aluminum foil and allow to rest on the pan for 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, heat the oil in a small saute pan until very hot, add the capers, and cook for 30 to 60 seconds, until they start to pop and are a little crisp. Serve the fish hot with the lemon wedges, frizzled capers, and the reserved Caesar sauce.

ROASTED STRIPED BASS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Heat the oil in a medium saute pan and saute the onion and pancetta over medium-low heat for 10 minutes, or until the onion is translucent. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Add the tomatoes, saffron, salt, pepper, white wine, and Pernod, if using, and simmer over medium heat for 5 minutes.
• Meanwhile, lay the fish in a 10-by-14-inch baking dish and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add the shrimp and mussels to the dish. Pour the sauce over the seafood and bake uncovered for 20 to 30 minutes, until the fish and shrimp are cooked through and the mussels are open. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.

SEA BASS WITH LEMON AND CAPER SAUCE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Season sea bass fillets with salt and pepper. In a saute pan, over high heat, add the olive oil and sear fish fillets skin side down first, for 3 minutes or until golden brown. Turn fish over and cook another 4 minutes or until cooked through.
• Meanwhile, prepare the croutons. Melt 2 tablespoons of butter. Toss with bread cubes and transfer to a baking sheet. Bake in oven for 4 minutes or until crisp and golden in color. Transfer to a small bowl and set aside.
• In another saute pan, heat 2 tablespoons of butter. Over high heat, saute the baby vegetables until glazed. Divide into 2 and mound in center of plate. Keep warm.
• Add the remaining 2 ounces of butter to the fillets and baste them with the butter. Place a fillet and the red peppers on top of the vegetables. Sprinkle half of the croutons on top and around each fillet. To butter, add shallots and continue to cook until butter turns brown. Deglaze with lemon juice, and add the lemon pieces, parsley, chives, tarragon, capers, and caper berries. When heated, pour half over and around each fillet. Serve immediately.
• Note: if sea bass is not available, any firm white fish can be substituted.

SAUTEED CHILEAN SEA BASS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 200 degrees F.
• Place flour for dredging in a shallow bowl. Coat each fillet with seasoned flour and shake off excess. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat for 3 to 4 minutes. Add butter/olive oil combination. Add the fillets, without crowding. Increase heat to high and saute, shaking the pan from time to time, until the bottom of the fish is nicely browned, about 3 minutes. Turn and brown the other side. Remove fish to a plate and keep warm in the oven. Repeat with remaining fillets.
• Deglaze the pan with white wine. Cook, stirring over high heat until reduced by about one-third. Stir in remaining butter and drained capers.
• Plate fish and drizzle sauce around each fillet.

PAN FRIED SEA BASS

Steps:

• Heat a large skillet with olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter. Season the fillets with some salt and pepper. Place fillets in skillet and cook about 5 minutes on each side. When the fish is cooked, set aside on a plate and deglaze the pan with the vermouth, add the thyme and saffron leaving to bubble until it's reduced by two thirds. Add remaining butter and whisk followed by the heavy cream and heat through. Serve fillets with light saffron cream sauce and blanched asparagus.

ROASTED CHILEAN SEA BASS WITH CHIVE OIL

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place the chives in a food processor. Turn on the processor and add the olive oil through the feed tube in a thin steady stream. Season with salt and pepper. Stop to taste, then adjust, adding more oil, chives, salt or pepper as desired. Strain through a fine sieve into a bowl and reserve.
• Place the sea bass in a sauté pan or roasting pan just large enough to fit the fillets. Sprinkle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place in the oven and roast until the fish is just barely cooked in the center. It will continue to cook once it is removed from the oven. (It should take about 9 minutes per inch of thickness.)
• Transfer the sea bass to serving plates and sprinkle with the chive oil.