Pan-fried sea bass with broccoli purée and citrus sauce
Item 1 of 1
- medium
- 4
- 45 minutes
Pretty as they are, the broccoli purée and citrus sauce elements in this sea bass with citrus recipe from Pierre Koffmann are no mere ornaments. The sharp, zesty flavour of the sauce provides a lovely counterpoint to the rich sea bass, while the purée underscores the dish with a lovely earthy quality.
First published in 2015
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Ingredients
Metric
Imperial
Sea bass
- 4 sea bass fillets, each weighing 160g, descaled and pin boned
- vegetable oil
- sea salt
Broccoli purée
- 2 head of broccoli, or 1 large
- 2 small garlic cloves, or 1 large
- 1/2 chilli, or to your taste
- olive oil
- salt
- pepper
Citrus sauce
- 1 red onion, cut into quarters
- 2.5l water
- 375ml of white wine
- 450g of fennel, finely chopped
- 300g of onion, finely chopped
- 450g of carrots, finely chopped
- 225g of celery, finely chopped
- 250g of leek, finely chopped
- 37g of garlic, finely chopped
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 sprig of thyme
- 1 orange, zested
- 17g of sugar
- 19g of chicken stock, powder
- 37g of lemon segments
- 125g of orange segments
- 25g of ginger
- salt
- pepper
Red onion garnish
- 1 red onion, cut into quarters
- olive oil
- salt
To finish the sauce
- 10g of lemon segments
- 10g of orange segments
- chives, chopped
- 1 knob of butter
To serve
- 20g of baby capers, washed
- chives, chopped
SAVE RECIPE
Equipment
- Blender
- Fine chinois
Method
1
To prepare the citrus sauce, add the water and wine to a pan and bring to the boil. Stir in the remaining ingredients (apart from the citrus segments, ginger, butter and chives) and leave to simmer for 3 hours
- 2.5l water
- 375ml of white wine
- pepper
- salt
- 19g of chicken stock, powder
- 17g of sugar
- 1 orange, zested
- 1 sprig of thyme
- 1 bay leaf
- 37.5g of garlic, finely chopped
- 250g of leek, finely chopped
- 225g of celery, finely chopped
- 450g of carrots, finely chopped
- 300g of onion, finely chopped
- 450g of fennel, finely chopped
- 450g of fennel, finely chopped
- 1 red onion, cut into quarters
2
For the purée, wash the broccoli and break down into medium-sized florets. Add to a pan of salted boiling water and cook until tender, for approximately 3-4 minutes. Strain and set aside until required
- 2 head of broccoli, or 1 large
3
Add a dash of oil to a pan, add the garlic and chilli and cook gently on a low heat to infuse. Ensuring that the broccoli is well-drained, add to the oil and toss until the broccoli is nicely coated
- 2 small garlic cloves, or 1 large
- 1/2 chilli, or to your taste
- olive oil
4
Transfer the contents of the pan to a blender and blitz to achieve a smooth purée, adding more oil as necessary to achieve the correct consistency. Season the purée to taste, transfer to a bowl and chill quickly by setting the bowl over ice and stirring, or using a blast chiller
5
Return to the citrus sauce. After 3 hours of simmering, stir in the citrus segments and ginger and leave to infuse for 2 hours. Pass through a strainer into a clean pan and reduce to achieve a thin, gravy-like consistency. Set aside until required
- 37.5g of lemon segments, peeled, plus extra to serve
- 125g of orange segments, peeled, plus extra to serve
- 25g of ginger
6
Preheat the oven to 200˚C/gas mark 6
7
Place the quartered onion into a small baking dish with a dash of oil and salt. Place in the oven and bake for 40 minutes
- 1 red onion, cut into quarters
- olive oil
- salt
8
Once the onion is nearly cooked, place a small ovenproof pan over a high heat and add a dash of oil. Score the skin of the fish and season with a good pinch of sea salt. Place the fillets in the pan, skin-side down
- vegetable oil
- sea salt
- 4 sea bass fillets, each weighing 160g, descaled and pin boned
9
Reduce to a medium heat and cook for 3 minutes, or until the fish is cooked to halfway through and crispy at the edges. Carefully turn the fillets over, remove from the heat and cook in the oven for 4 minutes to finish off
10
Once ready to serve the sauce, reheat gently and stir through a knob of butter, some more chopped citrus segments and chives to finish
- chives
- 1 knob of butter
- 10g of lemon segments
- 10g of orange segments
11
Before serving, reheat the broccoli purée until warmed through
12
Add some purée to each plate, followed by the citrus sauce. Top with the sea bass, add the red onion and finish with a spoonful of capers and some chopped chives. Serve immediately
- 20g of baby capers, washed
- chives
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