Pan Roasted Black Sea Bass With Cauliflower Almond Sauce Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Season bass on both sides with salt and pepper to taste. Heat oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Sear the fish, skin-down, until golden brown. Turn over and place the pan in the oven and cook for 4 to 5 minutes for medium doneness.
• Ladle Cauliflower Sauce into the bottom of 4 shallow wide bowls. Divide the haricots verts evenly and place a layer of haricots verts side by side on top of the sauce in each bowl. Place a bass fillet on top of the haricots verts, and ladle a little more of the sauce over. Sprinkle with chives.
• Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onions and garlic and cook until soft. Add cauliflower and cook for 5 minutes (do not let onions, garlic, or cauliflower obtain any color). Add wine and cook until reduced. Add fish stock and just enough water to cover the cauliflower and season with salt and pepper. Cover and cook until the cauliflower is completely cooked through and soft.
• Transfer the mixture to a food processor add almonds, and process until smooth. Strain the mixture into a medium saucepan and place on the stove over medium heat. Whisk in the cream and cook for 2 minutes. Whisk in the butter and cook until melted. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
• Combine ingredients in a small bowl. Scrape into a ramekin, cover and let chill in the refrigerator, at least 1 hour.

Steps:

• Heat the oven while you prepare the cauliflower: Place a heavy oven-proof skillet (a cast-iron skillet looks very nice) or a baking sheet in the oven and turn the heat to 375 degrees. Place a small pan of hot water on the floor of the oven, to create steam.
• Break off and discard the outer leaves from the cauliflower. Cut off the bottom of the stem, and then use the tip of a small, sharp knife to cut off the leaves close to the stem. Carefully cut out the hard core of the cauliflower, near the bottom. Leave the main stem intact and make sure not to cut through any of the florets.
• Rinse the cauliflower (leave the water clinging to the outside) and place on a work surface, core side up. Drizzle with olive oil and use your hands to rub over the cauliflower until evenly coated. Sprinkle with salt.
• Place the cauliflower on the hot pan in the oven, core side down, and cook until very tender all the way through when pierced with a knife, at least 1 hour or up to 2 hours. During the cooking, baste 2 or 3 times with more olive oil. It should brown nicely. If you have a convection feature, use it toward the end of baking to brown the crust.
• Make the sauce: In a small frying pan, toast nuts over low heat, shaking often, just until golden and fragrant. Set aside to cool.
• Soak anchovies, if using, for 5 minutes in cool water. Rinse and set aside on paper towels.
• In a food processor, combine almonds, anchovies, garlic and butter and pulse until smooth. Mix in oil, then vinegar. Mix in herbs and red pepper flakes, if using. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Set aside.
• When cauliflower is tender, remove from the oven. (If desired, run it briefly under the broiler first to brown the surface; there is no need to do this if you used convection.)
• Serve cauliflower in the skillet or from a serving plate. Cut into wedges and spoon sauce around each wedge.