Striped Basstrami Recipes

GRILLED STRIPED BASS

Steps:

• Combine oil, lemon juice, thyme or oregano, garlic, and pepper in a large shallow bowl. Add fish to marinade, and turn to coat; cover with plastic wrap, and place in the refrigerator 30 minutes.
• Heat a grill or grill pan over medium-high heat. Remove fish from marinade, letting excess drip off. Place on grill, skin side down, and season with salt. Grill until skin is lightly browned and starting to crisp. Carefully turn fillets, and cook until well browned and cooked through (center will be opaque), 5 to 6 minutes. Garnish with chives and lemon wedges, if desired. Serve hot or at room temperature.

STRIPED BASS WITH POTATOES AND OLIVES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 425 degrees. Use a little oil to brush the bottom of a shallow baking dish that can go to the table and is large enough to hold the fish in one piece. Spread potatoes in dish, overlapping, and sprinkle with 2 tablespoons oil. Season with salt and pepper. Bake 20 minutes. Remove from oven.
• Season flesh side of fish with salt and pepper. Place fish skin side up on the potatoes, sprinkle on remaining oil, scatter olives around and place bay leaves on top. Cover with parchment paper and bake 20 minutes, or until fish is just cooked through at the thickest part (a sharp knife will penetrate easily). Garnish with lemon and serve.

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.

STEAMED STRIPED BASS

Steps:

• Stir ginger, orange zest and juice, coriander, oil, soy sauce, wine, and scallions in a medium bowl. Season with pepper. Add fish and mushrooms; turn to coat completely. Marinate 10 minutes.
• Fill 2 woks or large pots with about 1 inch of water. Bring to a boil. Brush bottom baskets of two 6-inch, 2-tiered round bamboo steamers with oil. Place 1 fillet and 3 mushrooms in a single layer in each bottom basket; place half the edamame in each top. Cover baskets; carefully set into boiling water. Steam until fish is just cooked through, 10 to 14 minutes, checking occasionally to make sure water doesn't completely evaporate. Sprinkle edamame with salt. Serve in baskets.

MARINATED GRILLED STRIPED BASS

Steps:

• Combine olive oil, lime juice, lime zest, cilantro and garlic in a large shallow bowl.
• Add salt and pepper to taste.
• With the tip of a paring knife, make three diagonal slits through the skin of each filet.
• Place the fish in the marinade and turn to coat the fish.
• Cover and refrigerate at least one hour.
• Light a charcoal grill or turn a gas grill to medium high.
• Place the bass on the grill and cook for about 8 minutes on each side, or until the fish flakes easy.