Whole Roasted Sea Bass with Winter Vegetables               

 tags (edit): Roast @Vogel @Try Soon! Main Dish  

 

Ingredients

1/4 cup Dried white beans
Salt
1 1/4 cups Butternut squash diced
1 1/4 cups Celery root diced
1/4 cup Bacon diced
6 tablespoons Extra virgin olive oil
1 cup Leeks (white parts only), diced
1/2 cup Mushrooms (chanterelly or shiitake), sliced
Black pepper
1 cup White wine (like Muscadet)
1 (2-lb) Black sea bass cleaned, gutted, scales & gills removed
1 bunch Fresh herbs (flat-leaf parsley, thyme, tarragon, chervil, rosemary, etc)
1/2 teaspoon Thyme chopped
1 each Lemon
2 tablespoons Chervil leaves


 

Instructions
 1. Soak the flageolets in cold water for 2 hours. Drain and place in a medium pot. Add 4 cups of cold water, bring to a boil and simmer until the beans are just tender, about 40 minutes. Drain.

2. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Bring a medium pot of water to a boil and add enough salt so that the water tastes salty. Boil the squash and celery root separately, until tender, about 4 minutes each time. Using a slotted spoon, transfer vegetables to a bowl of ice water. Drain when cool. In the same boiling water, blanch the bacon for 1 minute, and drain.

3. In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of the oil over medium high heat. Add the bacon and cook, without browning, about 1 minute. Add the leeks, mushrooms and a pinch of salt and pepper, and cook, stirring frequently, until tender, about 5 minutes. Pour in the wine and simmer until reduced by half. Stir in the squash, celery root and the beans, and season to taste with salt and pepper.

4. Sprinkle the inside of the fish generously with salt and pepper, then stuff with the herb bundle. Place fish in a nonreactive metal roasting pan, coat with the remaining 4 tablespoons olive oil, season generously with salt and pepper and top with thyme leaves. Roast in the oven for 20 minutes. Check for doneness by inserting the tip of a knife into the backbone and gently lifting a fillet off the spine. If it separates easily, the fish is cooked. If not, roast for 3 or 4 minutes more.

5. Meanwhile, juice half the lemon and cut the other half into four wedges. Remove the pan from the oven and, while still very hot, spoon the vegetable mixture into it. Sprinkle the fish and vegetables with the lemon juice. Top fish with chervil and serve with lemon wedges.

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Yields: 4 Servings
     New York Times, 11-25-2007

 notes:  Adapted from Sam Hayward, co-owner and chef of Fore Street in Portland, ME.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/25/magazine/25food-t.html?_r=2

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