Roasted Sea Bass with tapenade and cherry tomatoes.

I have seen two kinds of people. Those who hate the sea bass and those who...well don't. I definitely belong to the second group. For me the sea bass works perfectly. Simply because it has such a mild and clear taste (in the sea bass haters group the same would be called tasteless :)) that it takes the flavour of  any sauce, herb, or a marinade so beautifully.

Now that I have established my love for the bass. Let me also share my love for the olives. Sara eats the spanish green ones by the cupful and I have a soft corner for the kalamata. It used to surprise me when at two she would fill her little pink bowl with green olives and finish them in no time. They are pretty acidic and sharp after all.

Apparently the girl loves intense flavours and who am I to complain. Oh and just so you know here I am droning about her love for olives but she completely rejected this tapenade and requested for olives and peanuts and cherry tomatoes ALL separately in the three compartments of her plate. Point noted. The girl doesn't like them combined AT ALL, she said.

Roasted Sea Bass with tapenade and cherry tomatoes.

Feeds two hungry parents and a little girl.

Ingredients:

3 thick sea bass fillets cut into bite sized pieces

1 cup cherry tomatoes cut into halves

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 cup tapenade

Juice of a lemon

Freshly ground black pepper

Salt to taste

Fresh thyme and toasted peanuts to finish

For the tapenade:

1/2 cup kalamata olives, pitted
1/2 cup Spanish green olives, pitted
1/2 cup walnuts
4 cloves of garlic (reduce the garlic if you don't like it very pungent)
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
Add anchovies,capers, pinenuts, if you'd like to.

Instructions: 

1. For the tapenade: Combine all the ingredients in your mixer and pulse till it becomes a coarse paste. Leave it in the refrigerator for an hour or two if you have the time (it helps develop the flavours). If you are hungry and want that fish now, go ahead and use it immediately. It will still taste good.

2. Preheat the oven to 150 degrees celsius. 

3.Arrange the fillets into a baking dish and scatter the cherry tomatoes all around them.

4. Add enough olive oil to cover the fish and tomatoes. 

5. Spread the tapenade over the fillets and squeeze some lemon juice over. Sprinkle a tiny bit of salt ( the tapenade has a lot of salt too) and pepper.

6. Bake in oven until fish turns opaque, 20 to 25 minutes. 

7. Garnish it with thyme and peanuts and serve.

Enjoy.

Images : Personal Album

While you enjoy reading this post with visuals.Please do not use them without asking. They belong to Orange Kitchens unless otherwise stated.

Baked fish with sticky sauce

“Even a fish could stay out of trouble if it would just learn to keep its mouth shut.”

And since it didn't quite learn the above it always lands on our dinner plate:) We love fish. Baked and grilled never fried. I have never been a big fan of anything fried. Hence , no affinity for fried fish whatsoever.

And when there is brown sugar and fish sauce involved (both of which are loved at home) then the recipe automatically becomes a big favorite. This one comes from my all time favorite book, Bill's Everyday Asian ( an earlier post from same the book,here). I like the fact that when it says Everyday Asian it really means recipes for everyday cooking. Almost all of the recipes ask for very little chopping, very few ingredients, cooking time is very little (well most cook on their own in the oven) and are very healthy.

Baked fish with sticky sauce

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 kg fish,snapper, sea bass, pomfret (Actually whatever you fancy)

1 lemon sliced

2 tablespoons light flavoured oil

3 garlic cloves,sliced

3 cm piece of ginger, peeled and julienned

3 red chillies,thinly sliced

2 tablespoons light brown sugar

4 tablespoons fish sauce

100 ml lime juice

2 spring onions,sliced

a handful of mixed herbs, basil,mint and coriander

Instructions

1.Preheat the oven to 190 degrees Celsius and brush a baking tray with oil.

2.Make three deep slashes on either side of the fish, insert the lemon slices in the slashes and place on the tray and bake for 20-25 minutes.

3.Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a wok over high heat.Add the garlic, ginger and chilli and stir fry for 1-2 minutes.

4.Add the sugar,fish sauce and lime juice and cook for 5-6 minutes or until syrupy. Pour into a jug and set aside.

5.Serve the fish, drizzle over the sauce and dress with spring onions and mixed herbs.

Recipe: Bill's Everyday Asian by Bill Granger
Images: Personal Album
While you enjoy reading this post with visuals.Please do not use them without asking. 
They belong to Orange Kitchens unless otherwise stated.