Sea Bass with Clams and Mussels served with a tomato basil saffron sauce

Serves: 4

Requires

8 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, thinly sliced
2 cups tomato concassé (peeled, seeded and coarsely chopped fresh tomatoes)
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
1generous pinch of saffron threads
1pound clams, rinsed several times and drained
1 pound mussels, de-bearded, rinsed several times and drained
1/2 cup dry white wine
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 Italian medium aubergines, thinly sliced rounds
1 green courgette, thinly sliced rounds
1 yellow courgette, thinly sliced rounds
10 basil leaves, chiffonade (see note below)
4 6-ounce sea bass fillets with skins
1 tablespoon butter
1 red pepper, cored, seeded, 1/4-inch dice
4 tablespoons Basil Oil, (see separate recipe)

Method

• Preheat oven to 350°F/180°C
• In a sauté pan, over medium heat, add 2 tablespoons olive oil. Cook the onions and garlic until soft and just beginning to colour. Add the tomatoes, cayenne and saffron, and cook for 5 minutes. Add the clams, mussels and white wine. Cover and continue to cook for another 3 minutes. Uncover and remove from heat grinding a little fresh black pepper to the mixture.
• In another sauté pan, over high heat, add 3 tablespoons olive oil. Sauté aubergine slices until lightly browned. Add the green and yellow courgettes and cook for another 1 minute, just until just warmed through. Toss together 1 tablespoon of the chiffonade of basil and season to taste with salt and pepper.  Remove from heat.
• Score the skins of the sea bass fillets so they don’t curl and season with salt and pepper. In another sauté pan, heat the remaining 3 tablespoons of olive oil and sear the fillets, skin side down first, until golden, about 2 minutes. Carefully turn over the fish and put the pan to oven and continue to cook another 4 minutes. Remove pan from oven and add the butter and baste the fish.

To serve:

Spoon the tomato sauce from the mussels and clams on each of the plates and then place in the centre the sautéed vegetable and top with the fillet of sea bass. Sprinkle over the fish the diced bell pepper and remaining chiffonade of basil. Place the clams and mussels around the fish and vegetables and the finish by drizzling the Basil Oil around edge of tomato sauce.

Basil Oil

Requires:

2 cups Basil leaves, packed
1 cup Olive oil

Method:

• In boiling salted water, blanch basil leaves for 2 seconds. Refresh in bowl of iced water and drain well.
• Place on baking tray lined with paper towel and let dry for 1 hour.
• Pour oil in a blender. Turn machine on to puree and slowly add the blanched basil. Continue to process until pureed and well blended. Transfer to a squeeze bottle and allow to steep for a few hours. Use as needed.

Chiffonade

Chiffonade is a cooking technique in which herbs or leafy green vegetables (such as spinach and basil) are cut into long, thin strips. This is generally accomplished by stacking leaves, rolling them tightly, then cutting across the rolled leaves with a sharp knife, producing fine ribbons.