Chilean Sea Bass with Apple Lacquer

Saturday, September 4, 2010

Chilean Sea Bass has been a “hands off” fish for a number of years due to sustainability issues.  But now Seafood Watch reports that there is a sustainable option for Chilean Sea Bass which I hope to utilize occasionally.

I am working on a new dish for an up-coming event and need a small appetizer or large amuse bouche item.  I thought I would kill two birds at once and develop an entree version as a fall menu item as well.  Here is my entree version.  The amuse bouche version will not include the asparagus, squash or beurre blanc, but will include smaller versions of the Bread Pudding, Chilean Sea Bass, Apple Lacquer and something for a garnish.

The dots in the Beurre Blanc are drops of the Apple Lacquer.  The dark specs on the Chilean Sea Bass is parsley which I should have spread more evenly and chopped a little finer.  I love the lattice or fan design of the asparagus.  I used the spaghetti squash to cover the bottoms of the asparagus, thus giving more "flow" and balance to the design.  There is some thyme in the bread pudding, so I used thyme as a garnish.  The savory bread pudding is exactly that... savory, not sweet like a dessert bread pudding.  I designed it as an accompaniment, and as a way to get "elevation" on the plate.  A key component of plate composition is "elevation".  Of course, when the Chef asks for elevation on the plate, the cooks will usually make some unsavory suggestions!

Savory Fennel-Butternut Squash Bread Pudding 2 Cups Fresh Rustic Bread cubes 1) Toast bread cubes until golden brown in oven.  Cool to room temp.  Reserve. 1/4 1 1/2 1/4 1/4 Cup Tbl Cup Cup Cup Shallots, minced Whole Unsalted Butter Celery, diced Fennel, diced Butternut Squash, 1/4" dice 2) Sweat       1 1/2 1 1/2 Tsp Tbl Tbl Tbl Fresh Thyme Fresh Basil Fresh Parsley Garlic, minced 3) Add & sweat.  Cool, reserve. 1 1 Cup Each Half & Half Eggs 4) In separate bowl, make custard.  Reserve 1/4 cup, add remaining to bread cubes.  Add above ingred., mix.  Let stand 10 minutes for bread to soak in custard. 2 1 Tbl Cup Parmesan, grated Dried Apple, diced 5) Add, fold into mixture.   6) Place mixture in ramakins or muffin tins which have been sprayed w/ pan spray.  Add reserved custard if needed. Bake in 350 degree oven until done.   Apple Beurre Blanc 1  Tbl Shallots, sliced 1) Sweat 2  Tsp Unsalted Butter   1/2  Cup Granny Smith Apples, cored,   peeled, chopped           1/4  Cup Apple Juice 2) Add, reduce au sec 1/4  Cup White Wine   1/4  Cup Apple Jack Brandy           1/4  Cup Heavy Cream 3) Add, reduce to consistency (by about 2/3)         8  Oz Unsalted Butter, chilled, cubed 4) Add slowly, whisking constantly over low heat.         2-4  Tsp Honey 5) Add TT Pinch   Sea Salt     Apple Lacquer  2  16  Tbl  Oz Black Peppercorns Apple Cider Vinegar 1) Reduce in non-reactive pan to 3-4 oz, strain.  2  3-4  4  Cups  Oz  Oz Apple Juice Concentrate Cider Vinegar Reduction Honey 2) Add, reduce by half.   Thicken to the consistency of maple syrup with Clearjel or Cornstarch slurry.  Pinch   Sea Salt 3) Finish TT   Apple Lacquered Chilean Sea Bass 6 Pinch TT Each 7 oz portions Chilean Sea Bas Parsley, minced Kosher Salt 1) Season and sear top & bottom of bass. Add Apple Lacquer to top of bass.  Bake for several minutes, add more Lacquer, bake until done (about 130 degrees), add more Lacquer. Plate and serve!   My recipe style disclaimer:     I have decided to leave my recipes in their original format rather than convert them to standard cookbook language.  Recipes written for a professional kitchen use different verbage than recipes written for cookbooks.  Professional kitchen recipes assume that the cooks have a solid understanding of culinary terms and techniques.  My recipes are written in this "Chef's Shorthand", meaning that clear culinary terms are used for procedures where possible.  This cuts down on a lot of extra words and makes for quick reading in the kitchen.  For instance, most cookbooks will have the following phrase for cooking onions, "in a pan over medium heat add oil and cook onions without caramelizing until translucent".  In Chef's Shorthand this entire phrase is replaced by "sweat onions".  That's it, short and sweet!  And it means exactly the same thing. If you are a professional cook, or have been to culinary school, then you should be familiar with most of the terms.  If not, then please use our dictionary link for the terms you are unfamiliar with and enjoy learning something new!  Or post a question, I'd love to respond.

 

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