Friday 11 October 2013

Elle's Simple Sea Bass supper with cheat's creme brûlée



Sea Bass and Fennel are both great Autumn buys. They are also both incredibly good for you and make for a refreshing, healthy-yet-indulgent feeling supper. I got my Bass from a supermarket fishmonger. Don't forget to ask them to gut, scale and clean your fish for you and always rinse it again when you get it home and take it out of the bag. 



This meal is a great way to impress at a smallish dinner party without having to do much preparation or even much washing up (shh.. don't tell my friends). When cooking for company, you can't beat a well put together one pot, baked in the oven with a one dish desert to follow. My cheat's creme brûlée barely even needs cooking, just a few minutes under the grill at the end, so you can prepare it whilst your bass bakes. 


Start with the fish dish:

Ingredients:
200g Anya potatoes
1 medium white onion
2 fennel bulbs
Handfull of cherry tomatoes
4 Sea Bass 
1 cup of white wine
1 cup of chicken stock (either made with a cube, or if you have some fresh then use this.)
3 tbsp olive oil
One rosemary sprig

Method:

Pre-heat your oven to 190°C on the Fan setting. Finely cut your onion and your fennel into rings, lay them at the bottom of a deep baking tray. Finely slice the anya potatoes to about 3mm thickness. Layer over the fennel and onion and add the cherry tomatoes on top. Pour over the wine and the stock, then Sprinkle with salt and the rosemary. Place in the oven for 15 minutes before removing and adding the fish for another 30-40 (check for the flesh coming easily away from the bones). 








 

Whilst your bass bakes, prepare the cheat desert:

Ingredients:
4 white peaches 
6 Amaretti biscuits
300g Creme Fraiche 
Demerara sugar

Cut your peaches into 6 slices. If they are already ripe, then use them fresh but if they're not, then boil them in water with a few tbsp of sugar until tender. Lay in the bottom of a glass oven-proof dish. Place your amaretti biscuits into a ziplock bag and bash with a rolling pin until you're left with a bag of fine crumbs. Cover the peaches with these evenly, then layer the creme fraiche on top. Heat the grill and cover the top in an even coating of sugar. Only do this immediately before grilling or it will mix with the creme fraiche and not caramelise as well. Place under the grill for 3-5 minutes and watch it closely for over-burning. You can also use a blow torch if you have one after you've gotten an initial sugar crust going. The sugar will get harder as it cools so it's best to do this before serving the main course.






When you're done, all you have to clear up is your two dishes, the plates and a chopping board. Nicely done.
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