Page 10 - Yachter Winter 2019

10 FROM THE GALLEY
FROM THE GALLEY
Pan Fried Seabass with a White Bean and Bacon Ragout
and Salsa Verde (makes 6)
Ingredients
6 Seabass Fillets (scaled and pin-boned) 500g of pre-soaked/tinned cannellini beans 2 sticks of celery (diced)
1 green pepper (diced)
1 red pepper (diced)
1 Punnet cherry tomatoes (cut in halves)
4 rashers smoked streaky bacon (diced)
2 cloves of garlic
1 bunch of spring onions (chopped finely) 1 large carrot (peeled and diced)
1 teaspoon dried mixed herbs
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
Juice of 1 lemon
175ml white wine
300ml water
1 veg stock cube
Salsa Verde
2 teaspoons of capers 8 anchovy fillets
1 green pepper
2 shallots
1 lemon (zested and juiced) 1 bunch of parsley
100ml olive oil
2 gherkins
Method
1. Start by making the Salsa Verde. This can be done by either finely chopping the green pepper, shallots, gherkin, anchovies, and parsley and then adding to the olive oil and the zest and juice of the lemon or alternatively, placing all ingredients into
a blender and gently pulsing to make a
pesto like dressing.
2. Place a medium-sized saucepan on a low
heat and add the diced bacon, gently fry
till the fat has been released.
3. Add the celery, peppers, carrot, garlic and
onion. Gently fry on a low heat to soften
vegetables.
4. Add the cannellini beans, paprika and
mixed herbs and gently cook for about 2
minutes.
5. Add white wine, water and stock cube.
Turn up the heat to allow liquids to reduce but be careful not to burn by stirring continuously.
6. When most of the liquid has evaporated, take off heat but keep warm; at this point add the cherry tomatoes and spring onions.
7. Take a large enough frying pan to cook bass fillets or cook in batches.This is important as over-crowding the frying pan will steam the bass and will not produce a crisp skin. Place the pan on a high heat with some oil in (just enough to coat the pan) as soon as the oil has become hot without starting to smoke. Carefully place the seabass fillets skin side down, pressing down gently. After about 2 minutes or until you can see that about 2/3 of the fillet has changed from translucent to opaque, turn the fillets over and turn the pan down, allow the heat of the pan to further cook the fillets till all the flesh has become opaque.
8. The ragout should still be warm; if not, place back on the heat; as soon as it is warm enough, serve.Take a plate or pasta bowl, adding the ragout then the fillet of bass on top and finish with drizzling the Salsa Verde.