CHILEAN SEA BASS WITH SWEET MINT SEA PUREE
PEA SHOOTS, CUCUMBER, RADISH & PARSLEY SALAD

Chilean Sea Bass is one of my favorite fish to cook. Its high oil content keeps it moist whether you’re grilling, sautéing or baking. Its flavor is mild, rich and buttery. Its texture is firm with large tender flakes.

The true name for Chilean Sea Bass is Patagonia Toothfish, Antartic Toothfish, Black Hake or Ice Fish. It is found in the very cold waters of the southern hemisphere oceans. In the late 70’s when they wanted to market Patagonia Toothfish to the United State’s market, they didn’t think the name “Toothfish” would appeal to the US market. To be honest, this not so pretty name does reflect this not so pretty fish. But looks don’t reflect taste, and this is a very tasty fish! It was in the late 70’s that they changed its name to Chilean Sea Bass. So, Chilean is a name, not a point of origin.

I seasoned the sea bass with just fresh lemon juice, sea salt and fresh ground pepper. The mint pea puree is velvety smooth with a bright expression from the mint. Eating the fish with the puree is a perfect combination of flavors. The recipe makes a good amount of puree. Be sure to serve some extra on the side.

To add some piazzas to the dish, I created a crisp crunchy salad of pea shoots, cucumber, French breakfast radishes and parsley. For the dressing, I had fun playing with Ground Sumac. Maureen Abood (the Harbor Light food article’s previous author and published cookbook author) now has a fabulous line of spices, reflecting her Lebanese cooking. I chose her sumac for its tangy, lemony and bright flavor which sounded like the perfect pairing for my fish and pea puree. You can also use ground sumac wherever you want the bright lemony flavor: seafood, fish, chicken, grilled vegetables, hummus, salad dressings.

The ground sumac comes from drying the red berries of a sumac tree. There is a poisonous sumac, but it contains white berries. Most the sumac we see in our area is not poisonous. The poisonous variety like to grow around boggy wet areas. The beautiful sumac we see in the fall with its bright red foliage is not poisonous. Those sumac like wooded areas with good drainage.

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Chilean Sea Bass with Sweet Mint Puree

Course Main Dish
Servings 4 people

Ingredients

SWEET MINT PEA PUREE

  • 2 tablespoons Butter
  • 2 Shallots, finely chopped
  • 1 pound frozen or fresh peas 12 ounces plus 4 ounces for garnish, 16 oz
  • 2 teaspoon Sugar
  • 3/4 cup Chicken Stock
  • 8-10 large mint leaves
  • Sea Salt & Fresh Ground Pepper to taste

PEA SHOOTS, CUCUMBER, RADISH & PARSLEY SALAD

  • 1/4 pound Pea Shoots
  • 1 English cucumber sliced thin
  • 12-14 French breakfast radishes sliced thin
  • 3 tablespoons Parsley chopped
  • 1/3 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • Juice of One Lime
  • 1 teaspoon ground sumac
  • Coarse sea salt & fresh ground pepper

COOKING THE SEA BASS

  • 4 6-8 oz. Pieces of Sea Bass
  • Juice of one lemon
  • Olive Oil
  • Sea Salt & Fresh Ground Pepper

Instructions

SWEET MINT PEA PUREE

  • Rinse the peas in cold water, reserve ½ cup of peas for garnish and set to the side.
  • Melt the butter in a sauté pan. Add the shallots and cook until soft. Add the peas, sugar and chicken stock. Bring to a boil and cook until peas are tender.
  • Strain the peas and shallots, save the stock.
  • Add the peas, shallots, mint and ½ the stock to a blender. Puree, slowly adding additional stock, until the puree is smooth and not too thick. Season with the sea salt and fresh ground pepper. Transfer to a sauce pan and keep warm until ready to serve.
  • The puree is also good at room temperature. You can freeze any leftover puree.

PEA SHOOTS, CUCUMBER, RADISH & PARSLEY SALAD

  • Mix the olive oil, lime juice, sumac, salt & pepper in a container with a lid. Shake well to mix dressing.
  • Toss the pea shoots, cucumbers, radishes and parsley with the dressing just before serving.

COOKING THE SEA BASS

  • GRILLING • Heat your grill to 450 degrees. Rub canola or vegetable oil on your heated grates. Rub the sea bass generously with the olive oil and drizzle with fresh lemon juice. Season with sea salt and fresh ground pepper. • Place the fish on the grill. Cook for 6-8 minutes or until you can see that the fish is cooked ½ way through and it pulls easily from the grill grates. Continue cooking on the other side for an additional 5-6 minutes. • You’ll know the fish is done when you see large flakes just beginning to separate in the fish.
  • SAUTEING • Heat a large cast iron skillet on the stove top over medium heat. Once the skillet starts to smoke, add just enough canola or vegetable oil to coat the bottom. • Rub the sea bass generously with the olive oil and drizzle with fresh lemon juice. Season with sea salt and fresh ground pepper. • Add the fish to the skillet and cook for 5-6 minutes or until you can see that the fish is cooked half way up. The fish should easily pull away from the pan. Flip and cook the other side for an additional 4-5 minutes.