Bass on a bed

This was a very good decision. I ordered some sea bass from Waitrose, determined to cook myself some lovely fish even though I hadn't chosen a recipe and wasn't sure whether I had any suitable ingredients at home. I just knew I liked sea bass, and thought I'd work something out when I was hungry enough.

There were some surprises along the way. The first one was the price - £5.99 seemed like a lot for two measly fillets of fish. The second one was the fact that it was imported from Greece. Why would you need to fly fish around the world when you live on an island? Nevertheless, I was prepared to forgive my finned friend everything when I opened the packet and discovered that it was neither smelly nor slimy. A first! A fish that looked as though it might have actually been sweeping through clear Cycladic waters as late as, ahem, yesterday morning. Okay, probably not, but I was impressed.

But what to do with it? At first, I was tempted to recreate a dish I enjoyed at The Mill a few weeks ago and serve it with a nice, mellow fennel risotto. But as much as I might try, deep inside I still don't think that fish and rice are meant to be. Yes, I know, sushi yada yada yada, but I don't care. Fish. Belongs. With. Potatoes. Period.

So like a true Finn, I grabbed my bag of potatoes and started peeling. And slicing. And then I chopped some garlic, and fried some mushrooms, and got creative. Okay, the end result is very much like a Jamie Oliver recipe (maybe I should just rename this blog Karin Cooks Jamie Oliver - what is wrong with me?), but I couldn't handle the thought of the salsa verde. Plus,  it is just as reminiscent of something my mother used to cook, so I won't let Jamie take all the credit.

Anyway, the end result was even more satisfying than I had hoped. The potatoes were crispy and garlicky, yet nice and soft where they had absorbed the juices of the fish and the mushrooms. The sea bass was tasty without being intrusively fishy, and so tender that I could have closed my eyes and pretended it was Baltic whitefish. Not that I did - that would have been an insult to these proud Hellenic swimmers. But I could have, and that was exactly the level of nostalgia that I wanted to achieve.

Dave, my darling peasant, had chicken and chips. But he did taste the sea bass, and  conceded that he "could eat it". He wouldn't choose to, mind you, but he could handle it. If you know Dave, you'll know that that is quite the compliment when you're serving fish that isn't chopped and shaped and fried beyond recognition.

So: the bass and I, we will meet again. I will definitely serve this for dinner at some point when I can no longer handle the thought of another vegetarian pasta dish.

Oh, and people? I know you're there - would you please comment already? It is VERY easy and you don't need to leave your real email address. Det går bra på svenska också, faktiskt.

Sea bass on a bed of potatoes (serves 2)

2 x 225 g sea bass fillets, or whitefish
Some herbs (basil, parsley, thyme, anything)
500 g potatoes
olive oil
1 clove of garlic
Salt, pepper
Around 200g mushrooms, any kind
Some butter

Heat the oven to 240 C. Peel and slice the potatoes, mix them with some olive oil, scatter over half the chopped garlic and salt and pepper. Cook, in a single layer, for about 15 minutes or until fairly soft. Meanwhile, slice and fry your mushrooms with butter and the rest of the garlic until they release all (or most) of their liquid. Slash the skin side of your fish fillets slightly, and stuff with some herbs - you can't fit very much in but it doesn't matter.

When the potatoes are done, spread the mushrooms over them and place the fish on top. Season. Return to the oven and cook for 10-15 minutes, depending on how thick the fillets are.

Lemon is nice to serve with this dish, and a huge glass of cold white whine would not have gone amiss either, especially since it is so garlicky. Sadly, I had none.

Comments

[Darling Peasant]

I can not confirm that I ate any fish whatsoever. I should also point out that I (bravely) agreed to eat the fish, but was told that chicken & chips had been prepared...

[Mamma]

vackert..
men det liknar ju min "sik på potatisbädd" förutom svampen då!
men gott ser det ut iallafall.

[Anna]

Det ser jättegott ut!! Nu är jag superhungrig och det är ditt fel. Jag vill ha ugnsfisk och vitlökig potatis och ett stort glas vitt vin tack. Mmm.
Sen tycker jag att du ska fånga nån lokal tippa och laga det där som jag försökte äta på The Mill. Hihi.
Fler nostalgitips, fast från tidernas begynnelse:
dillkött
minestronesoppa
fiskbullar.
Poppa upp dem om du kan!

[Pille]

This is a lovely recipe indeed, and seabass is a great fish (I made a very simple chinese seabass in the oven few weeks ago).
I disagree on the fish & rice front though - salmon is lovely with the latter. Though it's also great with potatoes, granted:)

[Karin]

Pille, you are right about salmon and rice - it is the exception to my rule, but I forgot about it! I love teriyaki salmon and rice. I was brave enough to try a monkfish stir-fry with rice recently, and that was gorgeous, too. I may have to rethink things!

[cheap coach bags]

Life is short, if the wasted years, the short life for too long. --- British playwright William Shakespeare.