Filetto di Pesce con la Salsa Fresca
Pan-Fried Chelean Sea Bass with Fresca Sauce
from: Nick Stellino’s Glorious Italian Cooking
Serves 4
Fresca Sauce
1 – 28 ounce can peeled Italian tomatoes, drained, chopped and juices discarded
¼ teaspoon sugar
½ teaspoon salt
⅛ teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh basil
Sea Bass
4 (6-8 ounce) Chilean sea bass fillets
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
Parsley sprigs for garnish
For the Fresca Sauce
Combine the chopped tomatoes, sugar, salt and pepper in a medium bowl. Stir and let rest for 30 minutes for the flavors to combine.
For the Sea Bass
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
Sprinkle the fish with the salt and pepper.
In an ovenproof nonstick saute pan set on medium-high heat, cook the olive oil until sizzling, about 2 minutes. Add the fish, reduce the heat to medium and cook for 2 minutes on both sides, until well browned. Place the saute pan in the preheated oven and cook for 8 to 10 minutes.
While the fish is cooking in the oven, finish the sauce by whisking together the ½ cup olive oil and the vinegar until well mixed and slightly thickened. Stil in the chopped tomato mixture, garlic and basil.
To serve, arrange the fillets on a beautiful serving dish, top with the sauce and garnish with springs of the parsley.
Cook’s tip
Buying sea bass can be very confusing as there are several kinds of fish sold under this name. Chilean sea bass is a richer and softer fleshed fish than other kinds of bass. If you are unable to find Chilean sea bass, regular sea bass will be fine to use. Other fish substitutes are red snapper and halibut.