Crusted Black Sea Bass with Banyuls Broth

Or, as I like to call it 'Crusted Red Snapper with Sherry Vinegar Broth', because, Banyuls vinegar is impossible to source (locally--of course everything can be had on the internet) and I couldn't find Sea Bass either!

Please accept my apologies for the gap between posts. My new job has me working hard and traveling. It's also training season for us (wannabe runners),  so I'm trying to be a little healthier...(read: 'Trying'). You'll also have to bear with some 'eh' photos as my laptop died in Boulder, CO last week and I had to buy a new one...that doesn't yet have any photo editing software on it.

Oh yeah! Before I forget, BIG NEWS. My Blog Buddy (MBB, it's kinda like BFF) Alex and I finally met...like face to face met (with our wives in tow to prevent any hanky panky). T'was not at Nicholas however, but at my favorite bar Catherine Lombardi, where I introduced him to some 'real' cocktails! Now, maybe we'll have some friends that don't look at us funny when we pull a random Tuesday night spontaneous 'Hey, anyone wanna devour the bar menu at Nicholas?'. Alex is a cool guy, but his wife is better looking. Just sayin'.

The dish: SO, my MBB Alex did this recipe and had a few hiccups, so I learned from his mistakes. As some of you readers know, I'm not the biggest fan of seafood in general. I just started eating it last year and while I do like 'good' seafood, 'good' is a REALLY high bar for me, so I'm a little nervous cooking seafood as I'm even picky at the best restaurants seafood. But...healthy(er), easy, blah blah, this recipe fit the bill.

I went to Wegmans and the Red Snapper looked pretty good so $18.19 and .91lbs later, I had me some fish. I cut the recipe in half for most things as it was only my wife and I.

The first step was making the broth.

As mentioned above, the recipe calls for Banyuls vinegar, which I substituted with half Sherry Vinegar, and half Red Wine vinegar. I would have used all sherry, but that Volpaia red wine vingar is THE best red wine vinegar I've/We've ever had. Volpaia is a little (VERY little) village on the top of a mountain near Radda in Chianti and while 'dining' at Dario Cecchini's (THE best beef butcher in Italy, and by dining I mean 'feasting' in the back alley of his Butcher shop) we had a chance to sample it, as that's what he uses, and it was worth the drive up the mountain!
Here is a video of us running up through Volpaia. It's one long video but I linked to the 'important' parts of the video.


And lunch at Dario's - The pictures at the end...tell me where I can get beef like that in NJ!


Ironically, while touring the kitchen at Charlie Trotter's, Laurie spotted that they also use this vinegar!

You can see it in the background!

See!

Ok, I know, I know, I the train is way off the tracks...but the vinegar is great!
Back to the recipe! The broth calls for all of the above pictured....simmered with water and mushrooms. 

I failed to take a shot of everything in the pot, mea culpa, however Alex over at his blog has a good shot if you're curious.

In the meantime, I prepped my beans and tomatoes. The recipe calls for haricot verts and cherry tomatoes. But, we don't have any of those fancy haricot verts around here so, I just used some string beans, and these nice heirloom looking cherry tomatoes I found at Wegmans.  (the haricot vert thing was a joke...)

Next up was the 'crust'. It called for toasting and grinding the following. (which, with the exception of the hazelnuts, I actually had everything in the pantry - WIN!)

 

(that's coriander on the bottom right by the way). I didn't know how to measure, as the recipe gave ounces and I wasn't sure if it was weight, or volume...I played it safe and just did it based on proportions, since I was cutting the spice rub down significantly. I would say you could half it and still have enough for 8 filets. I must not have toasted them long enough or something because when I put everything in the spice grinder (although it DID say to do it separate, but, I'm a rebel) it came out kinda 'brown sugar' moist like.

 I figured it would still work so I plugged on through. 

I strained my sauce/broth out (it was tasting GOOD at this point), and portioned and prepped my fish while the broth and pan heated. 

Then seared the skin side first, pressing gently with a spatula, as instructed (...Because I didn't pay attention to my 'test' piece and it seared a little unevenly....what? you all run 'tests' on things like this don't you?)

Meanwhile, my broth was coming to a boil so I whisked in some brown butter (because brown butter makes everything better!), and threw in some herbs.

 

and BAZINGA! (that was for you Steph!)

 

One to match the book. 

Thoughts: Knocked it out of the park! You see, Laurie was working a 12 hour shift this day. When a woman, your wife, works 12 hour shifts, the LAST thing you want to do is 'experiment' with a new recipe and have it turn out a flop when she gets home at 8pm...only to pour a bowl of cereal.......I'm a risk taker, but these are things you learn when your a newlywed. I took that risk and it was worth it. We both loved it (yes, me, my non-seafood eating self, loved it).  The broth was REALLY good. I'm sitting here thinking what else I can use that broth recipe for! I'm also getting much better at 'tasting' my food. I tasted the broth throughout the process and was pretty good with 'adding a little more this and a little more that' to balance it.

I loved this recipe for a few reasons: 1. It was a VERY simple and quick recipe. 2. The flavor didn't taste like a simple and quick recipe. 3. There was practically ZERO prep/knife work, which is always the killer in some recipes. We didn't pair it with wine as the recommendation was a fruity California Pinot Noir, something we've had many times...and that whole 'healthy' thing. (I wish more good wines would come in half bottles!). If I had to say anything negative about it, it would be my skin not crisping up as much as I'd liked. I went to the cellar for my propane torch, but seemed to have misplaced it. (aka: Laurie lost it)

I think this is the/a perfect weeknight dish from this cookbook. The broth takes 45 minutes (of non attending), and the spice mixture can be made ahead of time, or, while the broth is simmering. This dish, even if you didn't make anything ahead of time, can be made in under an hour easy.

Up Next: Now that I grew a pair...I'm sure it will be a fish dish.