Seared Sea Bass

Seared Sea Bass with Chestnuts, Jerusalem Artichokes & a Sherry Butter Sauce

Ingredients

• 1-2 fillet sea bass, prepped
• Salt & pepper to taste
• 1 tbsp. vegetable oil

• 2 large Jerusalem artichokes, peeled & diced
• A few pieces of cooked chestnuts
• 50g unsalted butter
• Half a lemon
• 1 sprig of thyme
• A small pinch of nutmeg
• Olive oil
• Sherry vinegar
• A few leaves of pink Radicchio to garnish, optional

 For the Beurre blanc: (makes 300ml)

• 100ml dry sherry
• 1 tbsp. white wine vinegar
• 2 shallots
• 50ml double cream
• 200g unsalted butter, cold
• salt and pepper to taste

Method:

1. Start by peeling and dicing the Jerusalem artichokes, then dice up the chestnuts.
2. Cover the Jerusalem artichoke dice with water just to cover in a small pan.
3. Add lemon juice, butter, thyme and a tiny sprinkle of salt to taste.
4. Boil to reduce all of the water from the pan.
5. Once evaporated and the butter gently bubbling, add the chestnuts and sweat together gently until tender.
6. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg
7. For the bass fillet, once prepared, simply season and cook in a hot pan, skin-side down with a little vegetable oil until almost cooked through (about 2-3 minutes), then turn and continue cooking for a further 2 minutes. Add some butter to the pan to baste, then remove from the heat to rest slightly. Serve immediately with the sauce, garnish and some pink radicchio leaves.

Method for the Beurre blanc:

1. Bring the sherry, vinegar and shallots to the boil and reduce by half.
2. Then add the cream and boil for 1 minute.
3. Lower the heat and gradually whisk in all the cubes of butter.
4. If you prefer a smooth finish, pass the sauce through a fine sieve then season before serving.