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One that I've been making more and more of late. You could probably do it with about any kind of fish that you like, but Bass works for me. Hope you're all having lovely new years. [Recipe] Sea Bass with Tarragon risotto and beurre blanc. A fairly straightforward recipe that requires a bit of preparation, but hardly any cooking. Good for lots of people, since most of the legwork gets done well in advance. Ingredients (per hungry person, and very approximate. Apart from the number of fish. Which is exact. Do about half this for a starter.) 1 whole Sea Bass[1] 100g Arborio or Carnaroli rice Handful of Tarragon 30g butter Half an onion Clove of garlic salt, olive oil, pepper, white wine, celery. [Fillets] Get your fishmonger to clean and scale the bass, but otherwise leave them whole. When you get them home, fillet them, and put the fillets to one side. [Fumet] Sling the bones and heads in enough water to cover them, add a bay leaf, celery (or celery seeds) and a little vegetable boullion. Bring to the boil, and simmer for 30-45 minutes. Sieve out the bones and bits of grot, reserving the liquid. If there's too much, reduce it. [Risotto] Mince the onions and garlic, and sweat in some olive oil. When they're soft and translucent, thrown in the rice, until it too starts to go clear. Then pour on the fumet, and stir. When there's about 10 minutes left to go, start the fish and the sauce. With 2 minutes left to go, stir in the Tarragon, shredded. With 1 minute left to go, stir in the butter and season. [Fish] Skin side up, cover with olive oil and coarse salt. Put under a hot grill until the skin puffs up and blisters and looks like it's not going to take much more before burning. The white underside should be moist but opaque. [Sauce] Make a quick beurre blanc by reducing about half a glass of white wine per head to half its original volume. When the fish is done, add a little Tabasco, and then enough butter to emulsify. Whisk it like a bastard and don't stop or it'll split. Put everything on a plate, with some leftover Tarragon leaves delicated arranged. (Eat the garnish, dammit!) -- Tom Sulston +44 77 99 89 80 44 http://www.sulston.net [1] The fishmonger on the Essex road is /excellent/. The fish I had from them on Saturday were top-notch. Really shiny eyes, bloody gills, intact fins. Top notch indeed. Not the cheapest, but cheaper than Sainsers, and a whole world better. I could have seriously overspent in there, were it not for the fact that it's cash only...
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