Thanks to a general boredom of eating the same thing over and over and wanting to provide fresh content for Tuck & Tate, we are constantly trying out new and different variations of recipes. As our husbands like to say, we rarely eat the same thing twice! As much as we love fish, we realized that we don’t cook it very often at home, and when we do, we gravitate to the same recipes and types of fish (salmon ). To expand our recipe book, we challenged ourselves to get out of this rut and try something new. “White fish with tomato butter” has been on our recipe brainstorming list for a while now, and it felt like it was meant to be when an email came for a Whole Foods sale on Chilean sea bass. If you are unfamiliar, this type of sea bass is ultra decadent; when cooked correctly it almost tastes like butter itself. We don’t buy it too often because it does have a hefty price tag, but every once in a while it is worth it for a special treat. That makes this recipe a great choice for a date night in or a small dinner party. If you cannot find Chilean sea bass, you can easily substitute halibut or cod. We love the addition of the tomato and herb butter, which brightens up the buttery fish with an acidic and earthy kick, making it a great recipe for the spring and summer.
Chilean Sea Bass with Tomato Herb Butter
A rich and decadent fish dish that is perfect for a dinner party or an at home date night.
Ingredients
- 4, 6 oz pieces of Chilean sea bass
- 4 tbs olive oil, divided
- 1 shallot, diced
- 2 cloves of garlic, diced
- 2 cups cherry tomatoes
- 1 large sprig fresh rosemary
- 4 sprigs fresh thyme
- a pinch of red chili flakes
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- 4 tbs butter
- salt and pepper to taste
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
- While the fish is cooking, heat a large saute pan over medium high heat. Add 2 tbs olive oil to the pan and saute the shallot and garlic in the pan for 2-3 minutes, or until the ingredients become fragrant. Add the cherry tomatoes, rosemary, thyme, and red chili flakes to the pan and toss everything well to coat. Reduce the heat to medium and cook for about 10 minutes, or until the tomatoes start to pop and the juice is running out of them.
- While the tomatoes are cooking, lay a piece of foil on a large cookie sheet. Pat the fillets of sea bass with a paper towel so that they are dry on all sides. Lay the fish skin side down on the foil and drizzle with the remaining 2 tbs of the olive oil. Season generously with salt and pepper. Bake for 13 minutes.
- When the tomatoes are bursting, add the white wine to the pan and stir the tomatoes well to break them down. Remove the rosemary and thyme sprigs from the tomatoes and discard. When the wine has reduced by half, remove the tomato mixture from the pan and place it in a blender. Blend until smooth. Add the tomato mixture back to the pan but do not keep any heat under the pan. Add the butter and whisk well to combine. Taste the mixture and season with salt and pepper.
- After the fish has cooked for 13 minutes, remove it from the oven and distribute the tomato butter evenly over the top of each of the four pieces. Put the fish back in the oven and cook for another 2-3 minutes, or until the fish is firm on all sides. It will flake easily with a fork when it is done cooking. Serve immediately.
TUCK & TATE 