Serves 4
Ingredients
Crushed potato
500g cooked and peeled charlotte potatoes
100g picked white crab meat
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
4 tablespoons chopped soft herbs (parsley, chives, tarragon and chervil)#
Salt and pepper
Seabass
2 sea bass weighing 800g – 1k, scaled filleted and pin boned.
4 basil leaves
2 table spoons olive oil
Salt and pepper
Sauce vierge
50ml olive oil
35ml sunflower oil
25ml lemon juice
5g coriander seeds, crushed and roasted
4 plum tomatoes peeled deseeded and diced
8 basil leaves
Herb salad
2 sprigs dill picked
5 sprigs of chervil picked
10 chive tips
1 pinch red amaranth
1 pinch red vein sorrel
1 pinch celery cress
4 drops olive oil
Salt
Method
Crushed potato
Reheat the potatoes for four minutes in salted boiling water until hot throughout. Strain off the water and pour into a pan with the olive oil. Crush the potatoes with a fork, do not over work the potatoes or they will become gluey.
When ready to serve add the picked white crab, chopped herb and season with salt pepper and lemon juice.
Seabass
Begin by removing all the scales, Fins and guts from the fish. Slice around the head of the fish on one side, cutting through the meat until the knife meets the bones. With the tip of the knife flush against the backbone, slice the fish from the head to the tip of the tail in one smooth movement. With the tip of the knife, use gentle sweeping motions to gradually cut the fillet away from the body, working from the backbone to the belly. Turn the fish over and repeat the process, but start from the tail end of the fish and work towards the head. Remove any bones and a small amount of the belly, trim a small amount off each side of the fish so all edges are straight.
Rub the fillet with a little olive oil and salt. And place one basil leaf on the flesh side. Wrap the sea bass in cling film making sure the belly doesn’t fold in on itself. Fold the two ends in so the fillet holds a clean shape. When ready to serve, steam for 6 minutes.
Sauce vierge
Mix all ingredients together except the tomatoes and basil. Heat up two small ladlefuls of the mixture ensuring you get a good ratio of lemon juice to oil and seeds. When warm through add the tomato flesh and shiffonade of basil, serve immediately.
To serve
On an oval plate make a line of crushed potatoes the same size as the sea bass. Place the cooked sea bass on top of this after seasoning with sea salt and lemon juice. Dress the mixed herbs in a small amount of olive oil and salt and place the dressed salad along the length of the fish. Serve immediately with the sauce vierge on the side.
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