Chilean sea bass

One of my favorite fishes to cook with has to be Chilean sea bass. This white fish is not only firm and flavorful but also has great nutritional value. A 7 ounce filet has about 150 calories and a decent amount of protein- about 48% of the daily recommended amount! There are so many different varieties of sea bass that are prized for the firm flesh. Chilean sea bass is not really part of the sea bass family at all; it has a richer and softer flesh than other types of sea bass. Either way, it’s one of my favorites.

 

I decided to make a light meal. Something low in calories, fresh and simple, here in Arizona it’s been triple digits and the last thing I wanted for dinner was anything heavy and rich. One of the things I do often is do a refrigerator clear out- I go through and try and use up whatever I have and try and get creative. It sorta keeps me on my toes! So, I had Brussels sprouts, spinach, and tons of lemon and grapefruits…here’s what I came up with.

 

Roasted Chilean sea bass served on a bed of citrus dressed spinach

And a side of sautéed balsamic glazed Brussels sprouts

First start out by prepping your Brussels sprouts-

• cut off the bottom pieces and peel away the outer layers until you see the pale and soft inner layers.
• Next, cut them in half, length wise and set aside.
• Bring a pot of water to a boil and salt the water.
• Boil Brussels sprouts until fork tender- about 5 min. while sprouts are boiling, prepare a boil of ice water.
• Transfer sprouts to the ice cold water to stop cooking process.
• Once cooled, transfer to a preheated saute pan with some Olive oil.  Season with salt and pepper and saute until golden brown. 
• Deglaze with balsamic vinegar-
• transfer to serving dish, and shave parmigiano chesse on top.

 

 

 

Now for the main dish-

• Season your sea bass with some salt (I prefer to use kosher)
• Prepare a sauté pan with olive oil
• preheat oven to 375 degrees
• Put sea bass into hot pan and allow to cook for about 6-7 min.
• Transfer to the oven and allow to cook another 10-15 min. *during pregnancy I tend to overcook fish and meat a bit~

Make quick vinaigrette-

• citrus juice 1/4 cup (save the segments for the salad)
• diced shallots (half shallot)
• Dijon mustard (1-2 tablespoons)
• olive oil (1/2 cup~)
• Wisk until emulsified

Dress picked spinach leaves with vinaigrette and position on serving plate
Pull out fish from oven and position on top of dressed spinach
Drizzle with balsamic glaze and arrange citrus segments around salad

Enjoy~