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Slow baked sea bass with potato boulangère, leek royale and syrah sauce
A simple way to cook sea bass is to bake it. Step up the flavours with thinly spiced potatoes, a French leek custard and a buttery wine sauce.
YIELDS
6
Ingredients
Leek Royale
- Salt
- 3 cups diced and rinsed leek, green part only, from 2 medium leeks (reserve the bottom white ends for crispy leeks, below)
- 1/2 cup parsley leaves
- 1 3/4 cups heavy cream
- 3 eggs
- Freshly ground white pepper
- 1 tablespoon butter, softened
Potato Boulangère
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 2 Vidalia onions, thinly sliced
- Salt
- 2 teaspoons chopped thyme
- 4 cloves garlic, chopped
- 2 large russet potatoes (at least 5-inches long)
- Freshly ground white pepper
- 2 tablespoons parsley, chopped
- 2 cups chicken stock
Sea Bass
- 6 7oz black sea bass filets, deboned and skin on
- Salt and pepper
- 2 tablespoons (28g) butter, melted
Syrah Sauce
- 1 bottle Syrah wine
- 1 cup port wine
- 1 shallot, sliced
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 sprigs thyme
- 1 tablespoon heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon heavy cream
To Finish
- Fleur de sel
- Cracked black pepper
- 1/4cup parsley leaves
Directions
Leek Royale
- Preheat the oven to 275°F.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and set a bowl of ice water on the side. Add the diced leeks and parsley and boil until very tender, three to four minutes.
- Transfer to the ice water to chill; strain and squeeze dry.
- In a medium saucepan, combine the boiled leeks, parsley, three-quarter cup of heavy cream, and three-quarter teaspoon salt and bring to a simmer.
- Transfer the mixture to a blender and puree until smooth. Pass through a fine-meshed sieve and chill over ice.
- In a medium bowl, whisk to combine one and a half cups of the puree with the remaining one cup of heavy cream, a three-quarter teaspoon of salt, and the eggs; season with pepper.
- Butter an eight-and-a-half x four-and-a-half-inch loaf pan and line it with parchment paper on the bottom and sides. Pour in the mixture and wrap the pan with plastic wrap; poke three small holes in the top of the plastic wrap. Transfer the loaf pan to a roasting pan and fill the roasting pan with enough hot water to reach the level of the leek mixture. Transfer to the oven and bake for 40 minutes, or until set. Cool at room temperature for 10 minutes, remove the pan from the water, then chill in the refrigerator.
- Run a knife around the inside edges of the pan and flip the royale onto a cutting board. Peel off the parchment paper and cut it into at least twelve one-inch cubes. Transfer the cubes to a parchment paper–lined baking sheet and reserve, chilled.
Potato Boulangère
- In a large saucepan over medium-low heat, melt the butter and stir in the onions with one teaspoon of salt. Cook, undisturbed, for about five minutes, until the onions begin to lightly brown on the bottom. Continue to cook, allowing the onions to lightly brown between stirs, for 15 minutes. If the onions stick to the pan, add a small amount of water. Add half of the thyme and the chopped garlic and continue the process for another 15 minutes, or until the onions are caramelized and tender. Transfer to a cutting board and finely chop.
- Peel the potatoes, and using a Japanese Chiba Peel S turning slicer, cut them into long, wide sheets, working quickly to prevent oxidizing. Trim the sheets into two four-foot lengths and lay them flat. Pat excess water dry with a paper towel. Sprinkle the potato sheets with salt and pepper and spread the surface with a fine layer of garlic paste, followed by the caramelized onion and chopped parsley. Roll the potatoes up from end to end to form tight logs. Tightly roll each log in two layers of plastic wrap, then tie off the ends. Using a sharp paring knife, lightly pierce the plastic wrap in several places.
- In a medium saucepan, combine the chicken stock with the remaining thyme and heat to 190°F (88°C). Submerge the potato logs. Cook until a cake tester or tip of a knife easily passes through the potatoes, about one and a half hours. Cool to room temperature, then remove the potatoes from the stock and the plastic. Slice each log into at least three one-inch discs. Reserve, chilled.
Sea Bass
- Cut six eight-by-11-inch sheets of parchment paper and set aside.
- Square off the ends and sides of the fillets to form a seven-by-two-and-a-half-inch rectangle. Lay the fillet's skin side up and score a deep cut down the center of the length of the fillet, leaving about one-third inch of flesh intact. Fold in the fillets along the score, so the skin is facing outward. Keep chilled.
- When ready to serve, season the fish with salt and pepper on all sides. Brush one side of a prepared sheet of parchment paper with butter and wrap, buttered side in, snugly around a piece of fish. Repeat until all the fish is wrapped and placed on a baking sheet.
Syrah Sauce
- In a large saucepan combine the syrah, port, shallots, pepper, bay leaf and thyme. Bring to a simmer and reduce until you are left with two cups of liquid.
- Strain through a fine-mesh sieve and transfer to a small saucepan, continue reducing to one-third of a cup.
- Add the heavy cream and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat.
- Whisk in the butter, a few pieces at a time, just until melted. Season with salt and white pepper to taste. Keep warm but do not simmer.
To Finish
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- In a medium sauté pan, melt a thin layer of reserved clarified butter and sear the potato boulangère discs on all sides until browned and crispy.
- Transfer the fish to the oven and bake for eight to 10 minutes, until just cooked through. Transfer the leek royale to the oven and bake for five minutes. Remove the fish from the parchment paper and sprinkle with fleur de sel and cracked black pepper.
- For each serving, place a bass on one side of a warm dinner plate and set two discs of potato boulangère and two cubes of leek royale on the side. Spoon a line of sauce near the fish. Serve and enjoy!
