Ingredients
Saffron-Chamomile Sauce
2 cups fish fumet
3 shallots, diced
2 cups Noilly Prat Vermouth
1 gram saffron
½ cup heavy cream
2 tbsp butter
1 oz. chamomile
¼ cup piquillo peppers, diced
Sweet Pea Puree
2 cups sweet peas, shucked
3 shallots, diced
2 tbsp fresh tarragon leaves
1 cup white wine
1 cup of water
4 tbsp butter
Braised Fennel
2 fennel bulbs, cleaned and quatered
1 Spanish onion, thinly sliced
¼ cup olive oil
1 cup white wine
A pinch of chili flake
Tarragon stems
2 cups of water
Sweet Peas
1 cup sweet peas
1 tbsp tarragon
1 tbsp butter
2 tbsp butter
Black Bass
4 5 oz. skin-on filets of black bass
Method
Saffron-Chamomile Sauce
Sweat shallots and saffron in butter until soft and sweet.
Add Noilly Prat and reduce by 90%.
Add fish fumet and cream. Cook over medium heat for 10 minutes.
Remove from heat and add chamomile. Let steep for 10 minutes and strain. Set aside.
To finish, reheat sauce then add the piquillos and season with salt and pepper to taste.
Sweet Pea Puree
Sweat shallots in butter until soft and sweet. Add white wine.
Reduce white wine by 90%, add water and bring to boil.
Add peas and tarragon and bring back to a boil. Turn off.
Process mixture in Vitamix until smooth.
Chill puree over ice.
Braised Fennel
Sweat Spanish onion with olive oil until soft and sweet.
Add white wine, chili flake and tarragon stems and simmer for 5 minutes.
Add water to mixture and season with salt.
Add fennel to liquid and cover pot with tin foil.
Place pot in a 300F oven for 25 minutes until you can easily pierce fennel with a knife. Set aside.
Sweet Peas
Add water, butter, peas and tarragon to pot and gently heat through.
Black Bass
Preheat oven to 350F.
Generously butter a casserole dish that will easily fit all four filets.
Place the filets skin side up in the casserole and dot filets with a little more butter.
Place in oven for 10 minutes until just done.
Remove from oven and set aside.
To serve
Gently reheat the saffon-chamomile sauce, pea puree, fennel, and the sweet peas.
Spoon 3 tbsp of pea puree and 1 quarter of fennel in each bowl
Carefully spoon sauce around each bowl (try not to cover the puree or fennel)
Add a filet of black bass and peas to each bowl and serve.