To sea bass or not to sea bass? That is the question!

I'm trying to be eco-friendly guy here, especially when it comes to things I'm stuffing into my piehole. Michael Pollan said to stop sucking down products with corn syrup in 'em, they're gone. No factory raised beef...um, except for my twice-a-year Big Mac...I'm in. Organic, biodynamic, food raised to according to long lost Aztecan moon-phase planting rituals with a sprinkling of human sacrifice? If that's what it takes, fuck yes! But when it comes to fish, there's way too many mixed messages.

Take sea bass, which went into this amazingly delicious recipe below. According to my local New Season's Market fish monger, they don't carry it because of over-fishing, which I've read about. But then I go to Whole Foods here in green-crazy PDX and they have their "sustainably fished" sea bass. Not that Whole Paycheck is the last word in saving the oceans, but I REALLY wanted to make this recipe so I went for it...with a modicum of guilt. If anyone has the real word I'd love to hear it.

In any event, this recipe from epicurious, which I'm sure could be prepared with cod or halibut as well with an adjustment in cooking time, was all kinds of deliciousness. The idea of "en papillote", where the food is sealed in parchment paper (or in this case the easier to use, easier to clean up, and just as effective tin foil) to steam in its own juices and other flavoring agents, is brilliant simplicity. All the flavors...in this case lemon, thyme, tomatoes, capers...get infused into the fish. Quick, easy, and way effective. Plus the sauce spooned on top of this was crazy good, and especially seasonal now that little cherry tomatoes are just showing up at farmer's markets. Plus it gave me yet another way to use lemons off of my beloved Meyer lemon tree, which after steaming under the fish you can eat peel and all. Both w and I loved this dish, and you know something this easy has got to be in the rotation!
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Sea Bass en papillote

From epicurious:"Traditional papillote takes time and requires origami-like folding. Here, we use foil to make a no-mess pouch; the fish becomes infused with the flavors of tomato, capers, garlic, and lemon."

Makes 4 servings.
ingredients:
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 (6-oz) fillets black sea bass or striped bass (1/2 to 1 1/4 inches thick) with skin
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
8 thin lemon slices (less than 3/4 inch thick; from 1 large lemon)
8 sprigs fresh thyme
2 garlic cloves, very thinly sliced
12 cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
1 1/2 tablespoons drained bottled capers

method:
Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 400°F. Line a large baking sheet with foil, then drizzle with 1 tablespoon oil.

Pat fish dry and sprinkle both sides with salt and pepper. Arrange fillets, skin sides down, in 1 layer in center of foil on baking sheet and slide 2 lemon slices under each fillet. Arrange 2 thyme sprigs on top of each fillet.

sea bass just before being sauced






Heat remaining 2 tablespoons oil in a 10-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then sauté garlic, stirring occasionally, until pale golden, about 30 seconds. Add tomatoes and a pinch of salt and sauté, stirring occasionally, until tomatoes are softened, about 1 minute. Stir in capers.

Spoon hot tomato mixture over fish, then cover with another sheet of foil, tenting it slightly over fish, and crimp edges together tightly to seal.

Just sauced, ready to be sealed up into steamy goodness

Bake until fish is just cooked through, 12 to 15 minutes (depending on thickness of fish); check by removing from oven and carefully lifting up a corner of top sheet of foil, pulling up sides of bottom sheet to keep liquid from running out. If fish is not cooked through, reseal foil and continue to bake, checking every 3 minutes.

Transfer fillets with lemon slices to plates using a spatula (be careful not to tear foil underneath) and spoon tomatoes and juices over top. Serve immediately, discarding thyme before eating.

Give me a fish......

"Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and he will eat for the rest of his life" is an old Chinese proverb. Give me a fish from ABC Seafood out on SE Powell Boulevard here in PDX, and I'll like a king for a night, and as long as ABC keeps in touch with those who do the fishing for them, the rest of my life looks pretty sweet!

I saw the following recipe for crispy sea bass in Mark Bittman's book "How To Cook Everything". I had never attempted to crisp a fish of any kind, so in the interest of broadening my horizons while at the same time satisfying my constant hunger, I headed out to ABC, where they had a perfectly fresh specimen that they thoughtfully cleaned and scaled for me, because as much as I like to play with my food, the idea of pulling out fish entrails and having fish scales flying around my kitchen wasn't too appealing. Besides, the woman at ABC did in about two minutes what would have been for me an endeavor that would have completely demoralized me while at the same time hacking apart this beautiful piece if piscine goodness.

So here it is. A very easy, satisfying dinner with no emotional trauma involved. Just the way I like it!
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Crispy Sea Bass with Garlic-Ginger Sauce
From Mark Bittman's "How To Cook Everything"

Time: 30 minutes

ingredients
Vegetable oil as needed
2 black sea bass, each about one pound, gutted and scaled with heads and tails left on (I used one 1-1/2# fish for the two of us, which was plenty- BB)
2 tablespoons peanut oil
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon peeled and minced or grated ginger
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon dark sesame oil
Minced cilantro leaves for garnish

method
1- Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat for 3-4 minutes. Add the vegetable oil to a depth of 1/8", more or less.When the oil shimmers, put the fish in it. Cook, undisturbed, for about 8 minutes on the first side. Turn carefully.
2- As the fish is cooking, heat the peanut oil over medium heat in a small saucepan. Add the garlic and ginger and cook, stirring, until the garlic begins to color. Add the soy sauce and sesame oil and keep warm.
3- Cook the fish 6-8 minutes on the second side. It is done when the flesh offers little resistance to a knife or chopstick; if in doubt, peek next to a bone- the flesh should be opaque.
4- Remove fish to plate(s), drizzle with sauce, garnish, and serve immediately.