Pan-fried sea bass with mussels velouté
An elegant play of textures and coastal flavours, with pan‑roasted sea bass lifted by a velvety sauce brightened with sparkling wine.
Ingredients
For the velouté
- 250g/9oz mussels, scrubbed and debearded
- 250ml/9fl oz sparkling wine
- 75g/2¾oz unsalted butter
- 1 leek, cut in half lengthways and then sliced into 2–3mm thick half-moons
- 250ml/9fl oz light chicken stock
- 250ml/9fl oz double cream
- ½ lemon, juice only
- 1 potato (Maris Piper or King Edward), peeled, steamed and chopped
- ½ bunch fresh chives, chopped
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the sea bass
To serve
- 100g/3½oz kale, chopped
- 200g/7oz Tenderstem broccoli
- crusty white bread
Method
To make the velouté, discard any mussels with broken shells and any that refuse to close when tapped. Place a large saucepan over a medium heat. Add the mussels to the pan, followed by the sparkling wine. Put the lid on and steam until the mussels open. Discard any mussels that remain closed.
Drain the mussels through a colander, retaining all the cooking liquor.
Melt the butter in a saucepan and fry the leeks for 2–3 minutes. Add the reserved mussel liquor and chicken stock and cook until reduced to a glaze.
Add the wine and cook until reduced to a glaze, this will take about 4 minutes. Pour in the cream and reduce the sauce to a nice, glossy consistency.
Season with salt and pepper and add the lemon juice. Add the cooked mussels, potato and chives and keep warm.
To make the sea bass, place a small frying pan over a medium–high heat. Add the seabass to the pan, skin-side down. Press the flesh down firmly to keep the fillet flat.
Once the fish is 80% cooked through on the first side, add the butter to the pan. Turn the fish over and then turn the heat off. Leave the fish to finish cooking in the residual heat of the pan and then finish with the lemon juice. Check the fish is cooked through.
To serve, deep-fry the kale until crispy. Blanch the broccoli in a saucepan of boiling salted water.
Spoon the velouté into a warmed bowl, then top with the broccoli. Place the sea bass on top and finish with the crispy kale. Serve with some crusty white bread on the side.
