White Wine Braised Loup de Mer
White Wine Braised Loup de Mer
Loup de Mer, known as Branzino in Italy, or “Sea Bass” in America, is my favorite Mediterranean fish and it makes a perfect, easy, and affordable meal any night of the week. This family recipe hails from Fayance, a small village about 30 kilometers inland from the beaches of St-Raphael. The ingredients are simple and clean: potato, onion, tomato and garlic, sliced thin and braised in white wine with a hint of saffron, lemon and herbs. I love the taste of a dry white Burgundy with the cooked juices of the vegetables and fish, but if you prefer a more subtle flavor, substitute half the wine with chicken stock or water. Pre-bake your vegetables then add the Loup for another 20 minutes and let this beautiful one pot meal take you straight to the Côte d’Azur…
Difficulty:
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Serves 2 people
Ingredients:
1 ¼ lb. Loup de Mer (1.5 lbs. uncleaned)
2 large Yukon gold potatoes, peeled & sliced 1/8” thick
1 med. Red Onion, sliced as thin as possible
2 med. Tomatoes, sliced ¼” thick
1 med. Garlic clove, sliced thin
3-4 ea. Saffron threads, highest quality
8 sprigs Thyme
4 sprigs Parsley or Basil
3-4 ea. Bay leaves
1 cup White Wine
¼ cup EVO
½ ea. Lemon, thinly sliced
Sea Salt & White Pepper or Esplette
Preparation:
•Preheat oven to 375˚F. Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil.
•Meanwhile, peel and slice potatoes. Blanche in boiling water for 4-5 minutes until tender but firm, then drain (do not chill).
•Slice tomatoes, onion and garlic and arrange slices in the following order until pan is filled:
2 rows potato, layered 3/4” apart,
1 row red onion barely overlapping,
1 row tomato layered 1 ½” apart.
•Meanwhile, rinse the fish well in cold water, pat dry, season inside and out with S&P, and stuff with remaining herbs.
•Lay the fish over the vegetables, layering lemon slices over the top and drizzle with remaining 1T EVO.
•Tent with foil and use a towel to crimp around the edges (foil should be ½” above fish, not touching). Cook 20 more minutes.
•Remove from the oven, and rest covered 3-4 minutes.
Filet the fish: (done over the vegetables, with two well-warmed plates and a waste receptacle ready)
•Using your sharpest knife, make a long slice (½” deep) down the near side of the backbone, from head to tail.
•Make a second cut from the top of the head, behind the gills, to the belly.
•Start in the corner of those two cuts, and using a spoon and the back of your knife, gently peel back the skin and discard.
•Trace the line across the center of the filet with the tip of your knife, then resting it flat against the backbone (under the filet) gently lift the top part of the filet off the bones to the warm plate.
•Remove the other half of the filet the same way.
•Discard herbs from the cavity. Securely pick up the head, and pull the entire bone structure away from the bottom filet.
•Flip over the bottom filet, remove the skin, divide in half as with the first, check for bones and serve.
•Remove herbs, serve vegetables, and spoon sauce generously over the fish.
Wednesday, Feb 08, 2012