Sarah and I had guests Friday night, so I picked up some really beautiful Chilean sea bass steaks. First, I seared the bass in some olive oil for about a minute and a half on each side and removed it to a plate. I poured out the oil and put the pan back on the heat. I deglazed the pan with some chicken stock and stirred in a teaspoon of saffron. I added some sliced onion, rosemary and sage stalks and salt and pepper. I put the bass back in the pan, covered it and put it into a 400-degree oven for about 15 minutes.
I made some couscous with almonds and piled it in the center of the plate. I put a piece of bass on top of the couscous and topped it with the following salsa:
Two mangoes, chopped
Two shallots, sliced
One avocado, chopped
Fifteen red and yellow grape tomatoes, quartered
Juice of one lemon
Olive oil
Walnut oil
Balsamic vinegar
Handful of baby spinach in a chiffonade
Handful of cilantro, chopped finely
Four stalks of tarragon, coarsely chopped
Combine all ingredients and refrigerate an hour or so.
For presentation, I made some roasted cornmeal corn cakes, broke them in half and propped them into the salsa to give the dish height. I served a few corn cakes on the side as well.
I also steamed some French beans for ten minutes or so. I still wanted them crispy. I tossed them with salt, pepper, olive oil, lemon juice, pieces of parmegiano-reggiano and prosciutto. These were served on the side as well.
This recipe serves four, by the way.
For dessert, I made some Grand Marnier Chocolate Souffles. I can’t take credit for this recipe. This is from Emeril Lagasse of Food Network fame. The only variation that I made was that I topped it with some fresh whipped cream with Grand Marnier mixed in. A lot of people find Emeril to be a bit cheesy. I do as well, but when you cut through all of the fluff, he is a really great chef. I use his recipes a lot and and I am always very satisfied.
The Real Potato. 