Sea Bass with Vegetables and Basil

As you may already know, I absolutely love Chilean Sea Bass. I occasionally find it at Costco and snap it right up. Here's a recipe that's loosely based on a delicious dish I had at a restaurant called Bloom in San Juan Capistrano. I love how when I cook this at home, all my memories of that delicious dinner and evening come right back to me. 

Ingredients: 

1 cup fingerling potatoes, cut in half if large

1/4 cup green beans, cut into 1-inch lengths

1 carrot, peeled and thinly sliced

1 Tbs butter

1/4 cup chopped onion

2 Tbs edamame

2 Tbs golden raisins

1 Tbs capers

1 Tbs pine nuts

2 Tbs minced basil, plus two basil sprigs

3/4 lb. sea bass

1 tsp olive oil

Directions: 

Fill a small saucepan with water and bring to a boil. Add the potatoes and cook for about 10 minutes. Add the green beans and continue cooking for another 4 minutes. Add the carrot and cook for an additional 4 minutes. When done, drain the potato mixture. Meanwhile, heat the butter in a nonstick skillet. Add the onion and cook for a minute or two, until it begins to turn translucent. Add the edamame, raisins, capers and pine nuts and cook for another minute or two, until everything is hot. Swirl in the minced basil at the very end of the cooking process. Add the drained potato mixture to the sauteed vegetables. Remove the vegetables from the skillet and keep warm. Cook the sea bass by adding the olive oil to the same skillet you used to cook the vegetables. Then add the sea bass, skin side up to the pan. Cook for about 4-5 minutes per side, depending on the thickness of the sea bass. The sea bass should be opaque and flake easily when done. Divide the sea bass into two portions. To serve, divide the vegetable mixture in half and spoon onto two plates. Top each mixture with one of the pieces of sea bass. Top each plate with one of the basil sprigs. Enjoy!

Serves 2

Stealthy Cooking Tip: Timing wise, it works well to remove the vegetables cooked in the skillet to a plate and keep them warm. Then, you can start the sea bass about the same time you add the green beans to the boiling potatoes. This means that the fish will be done at about the same time as the boiled vegetables ... and that everything will still be hot when served. 

Baked Mushroom and Onion Salad

Here's a newer riff on my Asian inspired mushroom salad from a few years ago. This one features oyster mushrooms, baked in foil with a sesame dressing. It's bound to brighten your day!

Ingredients: 

8 oz oyster mushrooms

1 sweet onion, peeled and thinly sliced

1 Tbs turbinado sugar

2 tsp low sodium soy sauce

1 oz minced ginger

1 Tbs sesame oil

4 cups arugula or hearty mixed salad greens

Directions: 

Preheat oven to 425F. Trim the mushrooms, then tear them into bite size pieces. Combine the sugar, soy sauce, ginger and sesame oil in a bowl. Add the mushrooms and onions and toss to combine. Tear a large piece of foil, then pour the mushroom onion mixture in the middle of the foil. Fold the foil into a packet, closing the edges to seal. Place the packet on a baking sheet and roast for 30 minutes. Carefully open the foil packet and allow the mushrooms to cool. Place about 1 cup of arugula on each of 4 plates. Top with one quarter of the mushrooms. Enjoy!

Serves 4

Stealthy Cooking Tip: If you use a delicate green, like spinach, the warm mushrooms with soften the greens. A heartier green, like kale or chard, will stay crisper. Either way, this combination is one that delights me. This is also another idea I got from trying recipes from Purple Carrot in new and different ways from the recipes they suggest. I usually love their combinations, so much that I'm always looking for ways to incorporate the best into my everyday meal rotation.