Herbed Striped Bass Recipes

HERBED STRIPED BASS

Steps:

• Spread the herbs and salt and pepper on alarge platter. Brush each fillet with the egg white, then dredge in the herbs.
• In a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, sear the fillets 3 to 4 minutes per side, or until cooked through and the flesh just begins to flake.

STRIPED BASS WITH HERBS

Steps:

• In a small bowl, combine the parsley, chives, chervil, half of the lemon juice, zest, and the oil; stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper; set aside.
• In a large skillet, combine water, wine, remaining lemon juice, the shallot, and garlic. Bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, cover, and cook for 5 minutes.
• Season fish with salt and pepper. Add to simmering liquid, cover, and cook until opaque, about 10 minutes. Use a slotted spoon or spatula to remove fish from pan and place on serving plates. Discard poaching liquid. Spoon herb mixture over fish. Serve immediately with salad.

BAKED SEABASS WITH HOMEMADE GARLIC BUTTER AND HERB BREAD CRUMB TOPPING

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Pulse the bread in a food processor to get slightly coarse bread crumbs.
• Coat a casserole dish just large enough to hold the fillets with 1 tablespoon butter. Place the fillets in the dish and season with salt, pepper, lemon zest and juice, and thyme leaves.
• Melt the remaining 1/2 stick of butter in a large skillet with the smashed garlic. As soon as the butter starts to bubble, turn off the heat and let the garlic infuse the warm butter.
• Remove the garlic chunks from the butter. Add the bread crumbs and lightly toss until all the butter has been absorbed. Turn the heat off, stir in the parsley and season, to taste, with salt and pepper.
• Spread a layer of bread crumb mixture over the top of each fillet and bake for 12 to 15 minutes until bread crumbs are golden brown and fish is cooked through.

STRIPED BASS WITH MUSHROOMS

Steps:

• Heat the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the shallots and thyme and cook until the shallots are translucent, about 7 minutes; season with salt and pepper. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until brown and tender, about 8 minutes. Discard the thyme sprigs.
• Meanwhile, season the fish with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in another large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the fish, skin-side down, and cook until the skin is crisp, 3 to 4 minutes; transfer to a plate. Add the wine to the skillet and scrape up any browned bits with a wooden spoon. Boil over high heat until syrupy, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the cream and simmer to thicken slightly, 2 to 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
• Pour the cream sauce over the mushrooms in the skillet, then add the fish, skin-side up. Simmer until the fish is just firm and translucent, 5 to 7 minutes. Garnish with parsley, if desired.

PAN-FRIED STRIPED BASS WITH LEMON SAUCE

Steps:

• For the sauce, whisk together: 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, 1/4 teaspoon lemon zest, 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, Salt, Fresh-ground black pepper.
• Taste for salt and lemon juice and adjust as desired. The sauce will separate as it sits; this is not a problem.
• Season: 4 pieces striped bass, skin on (4 to 6 ounces each) with: Salt, Fresh-ground black pepper.
• Choose a heavy-bottomed pan for frying the fish. Take another, slightly smaller pan that will fit into the pan for the fish, and wrap its bottom with foil. This pan will be used as a weight to hold the fish flat against the frying pan to ensure that all of the skin will cook and crisp. (You will see the fish contract when it goes into the hot pan, as the skin shrinks on contact with the heat.) Warm the larger pan over medium-high heat. When hot, pour in: Olive oil, enough to generously coat the bottom.
• Add the pieces of bass, skin side down, and place the foil-wrapped pan on top of the fish. Cook until the skin is brown and crispy, about 7 minutes. Check now and then to see that the fish is indeed browning, but not overbrowning. Adjust the heat up or down to speed up or slow down the cooking as needed. When the skin is browned, remove the top pan and turn the fish. Cook for another minute or so, until the fish is just cooked through, but is still moist and tender inside. Meanwhile whisk the lemon sauce together again and pour it onto a warm plate. Serve the fish skin side up, on top of the sauce.
• Garnish the fish with a couple spoonfuls of chopped tender herbs such as parsley, chives, chervil, cilantro, or basil.
• Soak, rinse, and squeeze dry a tablespoon or so of capers. When the fish is cooked add the capers to the hot pan and sauté for a minute or two. Remove with a slotted spoon and scatter over the fish.
• Make a Beurre Blanc (Warm Butter Sauce; page 228) instead of the olive oil sauce.