Black Bass In Watercress Broth Ginger And Fava Beans Recipes

BLACK SEA BASS CRUSTED WITH SPICES, TOMATO, AND VEGETABLE VINAIGRETTE

Steps:

• For the vinaigrette: Saute sliced mushrooms in butter until caramelized. Add honey, soy, lemon juice, and vinegar. Add water and simmer slowly for 30 minutes. Strain, pressing out all juice.
• Make brown butter with salted butter. Place pan in ice water to stop cooking. Whisk into mushroom broth.
• Cook fingerling potato, peel and cut into thirds. Set aside.
• Cut fish with skin into 3 pieces. Season with salt and pepper. Dip in cream, then spice mixture, then flour. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a saucepan and saute until crisp.
• Heat vinaigrette with potatoes, fava beans, and onions. Add tomatoes and herbs last. Pour into bowl and add fish.
• Toast hazelnuts, almonds, coriander, sesame seeds, and peppercorns in a hot pan and grind.

BLACK BASS IN WATERCRESS BROTH, GINGER AND FAVA BEANS

Steps:

• To make the pickled onions, combine the sugar and vinegar in a pot over high heat. Bring to a boil; then, pour into a small bowl holding the onions and ginger. Cover and refrigerate for at least two days.
• In a deep pot, place the watercress (minus the reserved leaves), the shallots, chopped ginger and 2 1/2 cups of water. Simmer for 10 minutes. Strain the bouillon (you should have about 3 cups). Return the bouillon to a pot over medium heat. Add the minced ginger and the sugar. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Set aside.
• Cook the fava beans in a pot of boiling salted water for one minute. Drain and plunge in ice water. When cool, remove the skins of the fava beans. Set aside.
• To make the fish, preheat the oven to 450 degrees. In a large steamer that has been coated with butter or a broiler pan with vents, arrange the bass fillets, skin side up.
• In a nonstick skillet, add the oil and the sliced shallots. Cook over medium heat until golden brown, stirring often. Drain the shallots on paper towels. Add salt to taste.
• Meanwhile, place 1 tablespoon butter in a skillet, and add the celery leaves and the julienned leeks. Add 2 tablespoons of the cooked shallots. Cook to warm up, no more.
• Brush melted butter over the fish. Sprinkle the fish with the minced shallots and the thyme. Salt and pepper generously. Cover with foil. Bring water in the bottom of the steamer to a boil; then, place the fish over the steamer in a 450-degree oven. Cook for 5 minutes.
• Meanwhile, combine the fava beans with the pickled onions and the remaining tablespoon of butter. Reheat, and season to taste. Divide fava-bean mixture over the plates. Place the leeks and toasted shallot mixture, plus the remaining shallots, over the bass. Ladle the bouillon around the fish, and garnish all with leek greens and watercress.

BLACK SEA BASS IN SPRING VEGETABLE BROTH

Steps:

• Make the aioli: Mince the garlic, then sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon salt and mash with the flat side of a chef's knife to make a paste. Transfer to a medium bowl; add the mustard, lemon zest, lemon juice and egg yolk and whisk to combine. Gradually whisk in the olive oil, then the vegetable oil, whisking constantly until smooth; whisk in 1 teaspoon water to loosen. Cover and refrigerate the aioli until ready to use.
• Make the broth: Trim the spring onions to about 6 inches; transfer the tops to a large saucepan (set the bulbs aside). Trim the fennel and thinly slice; transfer 1 cup fennel fronds to the saucepan (set the sliced fennel aside). Add the celery, carrot, parsley sprigs, bay leaf, peppercorns and 8 cups water to the saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat; reduce the heat to medium and cook, 15 minutes.
• Remove the fava beans from their pods. Bring a small saucepan of water to a boil. Add the fava beans and cook 1 minute; drain and rinse under cold water. Slip off the skins; set the beans aside.
• Strain the vegetable broth into a wide pot. Add the potatoes and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat; reduce the heat to medium and simmer until the potatoes are tender, about 12 minutes. Transfer the potatoes to a bowl with a slotted spoon. Add the reserved spring onion bulbs and the tomatoes to the broth; simmer 5 minutes.
• Make the fish: Score each fish fillet crosswise 3 or 4 times on the skin side (do not cut through to the flesh). Season the flesh side with salt. Add the fish to the pot; add the fava beans and reserved sliced fennel, cover and cook until the fish is just opaque, about 6 minutes.
• Divide the potatoes among shallow bowls; top each with a fish fillet, then divide the broth and vegetables among the bowls. Sprinkle with the chopped parsley and top each with a spoonful of aioli. Serve with bread and the remaining aioli.

MISO-MARINATED COD WITH FAVA BEANS

Steps:

• Stir together miso, ginger, cilantro and 1 tbsp shallot in a bowl. Coat each fillet with mixture; cover and refrigerate 6 hours. Bring fava beans, broth, 1/2 cup shallots and thyme to a boil in a medium saucepan. Lower heat; simmer until beans are very tender, about 10 minutes. (If using peas, simmer 5 minutes.) Drain excess broth, leaving just enough to cover beans. Stir in butter; season with salt and pepper. Remove cod from marinade. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet. Cook cod until well browned and firm, turning once, about 4 minutes per side. Using a slotted spoon, divide fava beans among 4 plates; top with cod. Serve immediately.

SOUPE A L'AIL (GARLIC SOUP)

Steps:

• Peel the garlic cloves and chop them coarsely.
• Heat the butter and oil in a saucepan or a small kettle. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, for about one minute. Do not brown the garlic. Add the water, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer for 15 minutes.
• Strain the garlic and reserve the cooking liquid. Put the garlic and a half cup of the reserved cooking liquid in a blender or food processor and blend to a fine puree. Put the remaining cooking liquid in a saucepan and add the puree. Bring to a boil. Add the vermicelli. Stir and cook for about four minutes. Do not overcook.
• Meanwhile, blend the egg yolks and vinegar in a bowl.
• Turn off the heat under the saucepan. Drop in the egg whites. Do not stir. They will form a cloudlike mixture. Add the egg yolk mixture and stir very slowly. Serve immediately.

BLACK BASS POACHED WITH GINGER AND SCALLIONS

Steps:

• Place the wine, vinegar, coarsely chopped vegetables, coriander and fennel seeds, peppercorns and bay leaf in a saucepan. Add water, bring to a boil, season with salt, and simmer about a half hour. Remove from heat, add the dill, basil and mint, and steep the herbs for an hour. Strain the broth and transfer to a deep saute pan large enough to hold the fish in one layer.
• Bring the broth to a simmer, add the scallions, tomato and ginger, cook about a minute and remove with a slotted spoon, reserving the liquid. Peel, seed and dice the tomato. Cut the ginger slices julienne style. Set the vegetables aside.
• With a sharp knife, lightly score the skin side of the fillets in a crisscross pattern to prevent them from curling. Bring the broth back to a very gentle simmer, place the fish in the broth skin side down and poach until just cooked through, about 5 minutes. Transfer the fish to soup plates.
• Bring the broth to a simmer again, spoon some over the fish and top the fish with the scallions, diced tomato, ginger and lemon pieces. Garnish with the coriander and serve. Freeze any leftover liquid for future use.