Seabass Recipe

Preheat oven to 200°C / 400°F. Slice the top off each garlic head to expose the cloves. Place on a piece of foil, drizzle with 2 tbs olive oil and sprinkle 1/4 tsp salt. Wrap tightly and roast on a baking tray for 35–40 minutes until cloves are soft and caramelized. Remove and cool slightly, then squeeze roasted garlic paste from skins into a small bowl. Reserve 4–6 tsp of paste for the purée and set the rest aside for other uses.

Place scrubbed, chopped Jerusalem artichokes in a medium saucepan and cover with water by about 2 cm. Add 1 tsp salt and bring to a gentle simmer. Cook until very tender, about 20–25 minutes. Drain, reserving a little cooking water (about 50–100 ml).

Meanwhile, warm the milk and cream together in a small pan until just below boiling; keep warm.

Transfer drained artichokes to a blender or food processor. Add warm milk/cream, 40 g butter, 4–6 tsp roasted garlic paste, 1 tbs lemon juice and 1/2 tsp white pepper. Purée until perfectly smooth, adding a little reserved cooking water or extra milk (1–2 tbs at a time) to loosen to a creamy, spoonable consistency. Taste and adjust salt and lemon. Keep warm over very low heat while you cook the fish, stirring occasionally.

In a medium saucepan, heat 1 tbs olive oil over medium heat. Add chopped shallots and sweat until translucent, about 3–4 minutes (do not brown).

Add the red wine, thyme sprigs and bay leaf. Bring to a strong simmer and reduce by about two-thirds until syrupy (this takes ~15–20 minutes).

Add the stock and continue to simmer until sauce coats the back of a spoon and is reduced to about 350 ml total volume, another 10–12 minutes. Remove thyme and bay leaf.

Off the heat, whisk in 30 g cold butter a little at a time to mount the sauce, then season with 1/2 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp black pepper. Keep warm.

Pat seabass fillets dry with paper towels. Season both sides lightly with 1.5 tsp salt and 1 tsp black pepper, pressing onto the skin side so skin is well seasoned.

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat until very hot. Add 2 tbs olive oil and 2 tbs butter. When foam subsides, place fillets skin-side down and press gently with a spatula for 20 seconds to prevent curling.

Cook skin-side down without moving until skin is crisp and golden, about 4–5 minutes depending on thickness. Flip carefully and cook the flesh side for 1–2 minutes until just cooked through (internal temp ~52–54°C / 125–130°F) — total cook time ~6–7 minutes. Spoon pan juices over fillets while finishing. Finish with a squeeze of lemon over the fillets and remove to a warm plate. Keep warm briefly while plating.

Spoon a generous pool of warm Jerusalem artichoke purée onto each plate, spreading into an oval.

Place a seabass fillet, skin-side up, on top of the purée.

Spoon 2–3 tbs of the warm red wine sauce beside/over the fish (avoid drenching the skin to keep it crisp).

Dot a little roasted garlic paste (about 1 tsp) alongside the purée for aroma if desired. Finish with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, a few microgreens or parsley leaves, and a final grind of black pepper.