Pan-Seared Sea Bass with...Pan-Seared Sea Bass with Saffron Fennel Puree and Olive Emulsion

Pan-seared wild sea bass with a golden crispy skin, set atop a velvet-smooth saffron fennel puree, garnished with charred baby octopus, caper-olive emulsion, and wild sea asparagus.

Ingredients

Cooking Instructions

1. 01

   Melt 20g butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Sweat sliced fennel and garlic without browning for 8 minutes until soft. Deglaze with white wine and add saffron. Reduce liquid by half, stir in cream, and simmer for 5 minutes.

2. 02

   Transfer the fennel mixture to a high-speed blender and blend until silk-smooth. Strain through a fine-mesh tamis sieve, season with sea salt, and keep warm.

3. 03

   Combine Kalamata olives, capers, 1 tbsp lemon juice, and 50ml extra virgin olive oil in a small food processor. Emulsify until completely combined into a vibrant, rich condiment.

4. 04

   Toss baby octopus with 1 tbsp olive oil, salt, and black pepper. Sear in a smoking-hot cast-iron pan for 2–3 minutes until charred and tender. Remove and set aside.

5. 05

   Lightly score the skin of the sea bass fillets and dry thoroughly with paper towels. Season both sides with flaky sea salt.

6. 06

   Heat remaining olive oil and butter in a non-stick pan over medium-high heat. Place fillets skin-side down, pressing gently with a spatula for 30 seconds to ensure even skin contact. Pan-fry for 3-4 minutes until skin is ultra-crisp. Flip, remove from heat, and let residual heat cook through for 1 minute.

7. 07

   To plate, swipe a velvet pool of saffron fennel puree across warm plates. Nestled the sea bass skin-side up beside the charred octopus. Dot with caper-olive emulsion and crown with sea asparagus.