Ingredients:
Part I: (Making the basting oil)
1 tbsp. of Dried thyme
1 tbsp. of Dried Parsley
1 tbsp. of Rice vinegar
1 tbsp. of water
2 tbsp. of freshly chopped rosemary
3 small garlic cloves, chopped fine
2 thin slices of fresh lemon
2 oz. of soybean oil
1 1/2 oz. of Extra Virgin Olive oil
½ tsp. of White pepper
¾ tsp. of Sea Salt
Part II: (Initial saute´ of the fish)
1 lb. fillet of Chilean Sea Bass (skin removed, cut into two fillet pieces)
2 tbsp. of Extra Virgin Olive oil
4 tbsp. of Flour
½ tsp. of Black pepper
½ tsp. of Sea Salt
Directions:
As indicated above, make the basting oil first. The ingredient quantities shown above will make enough basting oil for two pounds of fish so you can adjust the quantities as appropriate. Put the dried herbs into a small dish and add the rice vinegar and water. Use a fork to mix everything to hydrate the dried herbs. Put both oils into a small saucepan and mix them. Add the rosemary and the garlic, the lemon slices, the hydrated herbs and the salt and pepper, then mix. Heat on medium until small bubbles indicate the water is starting to boil off. Place the pan in a 210ºF oven and heat the basting oil for one hour. This will develop the flavor.
I decided to serve the Chilean Sea Bass with a large baked sweet potato, so you can wrap the potato in aluminum foil and bake at 400ºF for 80 minutes. Double wall ovens are good to have so you don’t have to struggle with limited equipment. The idea is that the potato is baking in one oven at the same time the basting oil is in the other oven, and the 20 minute period left after removing the basting oil is the time when the fish is cooked and the broccoli is steamed.
Once the basting oil is done you can move on to the fish and the broccoli. I served fresh broccoli steamed just enough to make it semi-tender (it retains the deep green color). It takes about 10 minutes to steam starting with a few ounces of cold water at the bottom of a steamer, on medium heat, so I started that after the initial fish saute´ described below had begun.
Now to the fish. The general idea is to saute´ the flour/salt/pepper coated fish on each side for four minutes to develop some crispness to the outside and to do most of the cooking inside the fish pieces. Then a second saute´ is done with the basting oil for about two minutes on each side. This finishes cooking the inside and it produces a final crispness with a coating of the herbs, which is where this dish gets its wonderful flavor. Details follow.
Mix the flour, pepper and salt together. Heat the oil in a skillet on medium heat. Note that raw fish pieces of different thicknesses should be accommodated …thinner piece(s) might be cooked for less time on each side, ergo, removed from the heat while finishing the thicker piece(s) to avoid overcooking. What I did was cut the thicker piece of raw fish into three pieces making them the same thickness (about ¾" to one inch) as the other primary piece. Thus, all pieces cooked the same amount of time and I didn’t have to worry about doneness or overcooking. The four minute and later two minute saute´ periods are based on having raw fish pieces ¾" to one inch thick.
Cover the fish pieces with the flour mixture. Place them in the heated oil and saute´ on each side for four minutes. They should be light to medium tan on each side.
Add the butter to the skillet and let it melt. Remove the basting oil from the oven and discard the lemon slices. Then mix the basting oil and ladle it onto each piece of fish generously two times. Turn the pieces over with a spatula. Ladle the basting oil and herbs onto the top side of the fish pieces a few times. Cook for one minute on each side. Repeat this process for both sides of the fish, for a total basting cooking time of about four minutes. The herbs will become somewhat darkened during the final saute´ periods … just don’t let the oil smoke … lower the heat to low if necessary. At this point the fish is ready to serve. Place the pieces on a warmed platter (Do you remember the 210 degree F oven you used for the basting oil? It is a great place to warm all serving dishes and the plates you will use during the meal) and ladle a small amount of the basting oil over each piece.
Serve the meal quickly to keep the fish hot. The taste of the herbs and the taste, consistency and moistness of the fish will knock your socks off, guaranteed! The sweet potato and broccoli are perfect complements, each served with butter.
Oh … lest I forget … Chilean Sea Bass from a first class seafood market is not cheap. I paid $13.99 per pound in 2008, and it was perfectly fresh (firm with no fish odor) and worth every cent (and now, in 2012 it costs around $18 per pound!). Removing the skin is difficult so have a good filleting knife or fine serrated blade kitchen knife to help you remove the skin without wasting fish. You can scrape/cut directly against the skin as you remove it without cutting through the skin … it is pretty tough.