Friday, October 10, 2008

Ginger Steamed Golden Sea Bass with Greens; Side of Roasted Lemon Verbena Potatoes

I have not had meat for about 4 weeks.  Fish seemed a reasonable route to see if I wanted it again and notice how I felt.

My little brother moved in from across the country yesterday and I have found myself in the position of "head chef" of my new 3 person household and this is what we made tonight.  

The men in my life love carbs. You could serve this dish with rice, but both Eric and Geordie love potatoes. Also, since this was an experiment, I knew that if it failed, at least they would be happy with the potatoes.   (If Marty Nation was cooking we could have had that amazing potato puree he used to make at the IRON PAN...oh! I miss those!)

Roasted Potatoes
  1. Heat Oven to 400.
  2. Scrub Little Red Potatoes (from Farmer's Market)
  3. Thinly Slice
  4. Toss with Favorite Olive Oil, crumbled Dried Lemon Verbena (from BD) and Freshly ground Pepper
  5. Lay out on Baking Sheet in Single Layer
  6. Bake for about 30 to 40 minutes until desired crispiness is achieved.

The Fish
  1. Mince too much ginger.  Mince or smash 3 cloves or more if you prefer of garlic.  Wash and thinly slice 1/2 bunch of scallions all the way into the deep greens.
  2. Wash greens.  Tonight we used a combo of dandelion greens and baby bok choy.  I was looking for mustard greens, but to no avail.  I left the stems whole.  (I might at some mustard seed to the dish to get this...but the wasabi served at the end pulled it together).
  3. In a large Pan (I used a Crueset Enameled Cast Iron) heat toasted sesame oil.  When hot, add garlic and ginger and some red pepper flakes if desired.  Saute briefly until fragrant.  Add the greens, tamari soy sauce (or other favorite), rice wine vinegar and toss.  Cook until they start to wilt, about 3 minutes.  Lay fillets of Golden Sea Bass on top.  (I split the fillets into half pieces so they were smaller).  Shake a little extra soy sauce onto fish and rub in.  Sprinkle scallions on top.  Cover.  Set timer to 10 minutes.
  4. Meanwhile, mix the wasabi powder with water as directed and let sit for 5 minutes to make Wasabi.
  5. Meanwhile, pan toast whole slice almonds in a little olive oil.
  6. When potatoes are done, remove.
  7. Check Fish at 10 minutes.  Tonight I set the timer for 3 more minutes and that was PERFECT.  Moist, flaky and infused with the ginger flavor.
  8. To serve, arrange potatoes on plate.  Scoop fish and greens next to potatoes.  Sprinkle with  little lemon zest.  (My brother does not like lemon zest and went for the juice instead).  Sprinkle with the roasted almonds.  Serve with wasabi and soy sauce.  
  9. I think it would have been better to make a "sauce" of the wasabi and soy to dip the fish into....Next iteration to be revealed soon, I suppose.

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