Seared sea bass with cured bass and citrus dressing
Cured fish quickly seared using a chef’s blow torch, and served with a fresh grapefruit tartare sauce.
Ingredients
For the seared sea bass
For the garnish
For the tartare sauce
- ½ tsp fennel seeds
- 2 x bass fillets, skinned and dicedÌý
- 1 shallot, diced
- ½ pink grapefruit, peeled and cut into small segments (retain some juice for the dressing)
- 1 bunch fresh dill, chopped
- 1 lime, zest and juice only
- 1 tbsp crème fraîcheÌý
- salt and white pepper
For the dill and citrus dressing
Method
To make the seared sea bass, fill a bowl large enough to hold the fish with 200ml/7fl oz water and stir in the sea salt. Add the fish to the brine and leave for 30 minutes. For the garnish, rub the kale with the lime juice and salt to soften, place in a bowl and dress with olive oil.ÌýSet aside.Ìý
To make the tartare sauce, heat a small frying pan and add the fennel seeds. Dry fry until they are aromatic, then remove from the heat and crush in a pestle and mortar once cool.
Mix the fish, diced shallot, fennel seeds, grapefruit segments, dill, lime zest and juice and crème fraîche in a medium bowl and season well with salt and white pepper. Leave to marinate for 10 minutes before serving.
To make the dill and citrus dressing, blend the dill with the olive oil in a food processor or blender and then strain. Whisk the egg yolk with the vinegar and grapefruit juice in a bowl and then gradually add the dill oil, whisking with each addition.
To finish the seared sea bass, remove the fish from the brine, pat the fish dry and then carefully sear the fish all over using a chef’s blow torch until charred.
To serve, spoon some tartare on the plate, add some kale and dill dressing and top with the seared sea bass fillets.Ìý
