If fish is your dish, then you will love giving this recipe a try! Moist and rich sea bass, brushed with soy-ginger glaze is grilled to perfection with crispy edges and tender meat. Serve it on a bed of puréed cauliflower with sautéed spinach and shallots. We use the orange cauliflower whenever we can for a more vibrant color!
Chilean sea bass is a really nice fish for grilling because it’s so moist that it’s almost impossible to over cook it. We love it brushed with this Dijon, sesame, soy and ginger marinade for both flavor and a hint of color on the crispy edges. Save a little extra for drizzling when you serve it. For the cauliflower, you can use traditional white, but the yellow cauliflower is also to add a bit more color to the finished dish. You can roast or steam the cauliflower before blending it to a puree with a little broth or cream.
Don’t worry if the puree is not quite as smooth as mashed potatoes. Due to the fibers, it’s not as easy to get 100% smooth, but it tastes amazing and is a great accompaniment to the fish and spinach.
The best way to get the nice golden-brown crispy edges on the fish is to sear it in a cast iron pan that you’ve pre-heated on the barbecue. Once, you’ve achieved the desired color on the edges, move the fish to a piece of foil to finish cooking.
Chilean Sea Bass with Sautéed Spinach & Cauliflower Purée
Equipment
- 1 cast iron skillet or griddle (for cooking the fish on the barbecue)
- 1 large saute pan (for the spinach)
Ingredients
Sea Bass
- 2 lbs. Chilean sea bass
- 1 recipe marinade/glaze (below)
- 4 sprigs fresh oregano or parsley (for garnish)
Soy-Ginger Marinade
- 1/4 cup soy sauce (or tamari)
- 1 tbsp. sesame oil
- 1 tbsp. Dijon mustard
- 2 slices fresh ginger (or 1/4 tsp. powdered ginger)
- 1 tbsp. honey or balsamic *optional
Cauliflower Puree
- 1 head cauliflower
- 1/4 cup broth or cream
- 1/2 tsp. sea salt
- 1/2 tsp. white pepper
Instructions
Cauliflower Puree
- Clean cauliflower and remove all of the green leaves. Break into florets. Place the cauliflower pieces into the steamer basket of a pasta pot or in a French steamer. Steam over high heat until tender, but not mushy. Remove from heat and cool enough to handle.
- Working in batches, puree the cauliflower in your food processor, adding a little bit of broth, cream or milk at a time, until the puree is the consistency of mashed potatoes. This can be done a day or two ahead of time and kept in the refrigerator until ready to heat and serve.
Sea Bass
- Brush the sea bass on both sides with the marinade. Preheat barbecue to medium heat. Place the cast iron skillet on the barbecue and heat up for about 10 minutes (empty).
- Add a little bit of olive oil to the cast iron and then sear the fish for 1-2 minutes per side or until golden brown. Move fish to a tin (or piece of foil, but not directly on grill) and cook on upper rack of oven (or on medium-low on main level of grill if no upper rack) for another 5-8 mins until fish is tender and almost (but not quite) starting to fall apart.
Sautéed Spinach
- Do this step just before you cook the fish. Heat 2 tbsp. olive oil in a large skillet. Add sliced shallots and cook until translucent and just beginning to brown. Add spinach, a handful at a time, and cook until all of the spinach has been added to the pan. Remove quickly after adding the last batch so it keeps some integrity. The spinach cooks down really quickly.
Marinade
- Blend all ingredients in a jar with a tight-fitting lid and shake well.
Assembling the dish
- Lay a large spoonful of the cauliflower puree (reheat in the microwave, if you have kept it refrigerated) on each plate. Layer a spoonful of the sautéed spinach over the cauliflower puree. Place the grilled fish over the spinach and drizzle a little extra marinade over everything. Garnish with a spring of oregano or parsley.
