Staring at the contents of the fridge, and the sea bass fillets that were supposed to be used in yesterdays recipe, inspired me to come up with another quick, colourful and easy fish dish. The flavours here are really great, and work really well with each other – the sweetness and heat of the glazed fish softening the acidity of the sauce vierge and the saltiness of the anchovies within it. Then the slightly sweetened, glazed asparagus brings everything together in one blaze of tasty glory.

Glazing is a great technique to bring all sorts of foods to life and add a supreme, slightly smokey sweet flavour kick. Don’t worry if some of the fish looks a slightly blackened and “burnt” – this is supposed to happen (within reason), and is just some lovely caramelisation of the sugary glaze. Also Stripping the skin from the lower sections of the asparagus gives them a luscious tender quality, and also makes sure they soak up loads of flavour from the pan.  Similar to the previous salmon dish, this makes a great mid-week, after work dinner, or a light, lazy lunch in the spring and summer. The colours from this dish really leap out at you and somehow seem to make those intense flavours even more intense. The sauce vierge (or green sauce) from this dish also makes an awesome accompaniment to pretty much any grilled or pan fried fish dish, and can be kept, in an airtight container, in the fridge for up to 5 days afterwards. And remember people – the better the source of your fish and ingredients the better the dish will taste. Anyway – just cook this one… its frickin awesome.

INGREDIENTS

For the chilli, lime and brown sugar glazed sea bass:

• 2 large sea bass fillets

• 4 tbsp soft brown sugar
• 2 limes, juiced
• 1 finely chopped chilli (you can cheat by using pre-chopped in a jar, but don’t)
• 200ml red or white wine vinegar
• 2 tbsp shaosing rice wine
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1/2 small glass cider

For the Salsa Verde:

• 1½-2 cloves garlic, peeled
• 1 small handful capers
• 6 anchovy fillets
• 2 large handfuls flat-leaf parsley, leaves picked
• 1 bunch fresh basil, leaves picked
• 1 handful fresh mint, leaves picked
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 8 tablespoons really good extra virgin olive oil
• sea salt
• freshly ground black pepper

For the Sweet Asparagus:

• 8 asparagus
• salt
• butter
• chilli/lime syrup (from fish) to glaze
• 1 tsp sugar

Preparation Method:

For the Salsa Verde:

1. Finely chop the garlic, capers, gherkins, anchovies and herbs and put them into a bowl.
2. Add the mustard and vinegar, then slowly stir in the olive oil until you achieve the right consistency.
3. Balance the flavours with freshly ground black pepper, a bit of salt and maybe a little more vinegar.

For the glazed fish and asparagus:

1. Preheat the grill to hot and put a baking tray under it (choose a good strong one that won’t buckle).
2. Make the glaze by mixing all the ingredients together. If it tastes too sweet (some limes are sweeter than others), add a splash more of red or white wine vinegar.
3. Heat, stirring frequently, until the sugar is completely dissolved, about 3 minutes. Pour the sauce into a small bowl.
4. Rinse and dry the asparagus. Cut off the bottom 1/4-inch of the stalks. Using a vegetable peeler, or small vegetable knife, gently remove the tough green skin covering the lower third of each stalk. You can use the discarded parts and any other leftover asparagus as a base for a soup if you want.
5. Cook in salted boiling water (10g salt per litre of water) for about 1-2 minutes. Once cooked, refresh in iced or cold water to ensure that the asparagus does not lose its colour. Do this as soon as you’ve taken the asparagus out of the hot boiling water.
6. Brush the skin side of each sea bass fillet with olive oil.
7. Brush the flesh side with the glaze, keeping 1 tsp back. Season well. When the tray is hot, carefully slide it out and put the sea bass fillets on it, skin-side down.
8. Then slide back under the grill and cook for 4-5 minutes or until the fish is cooked through. The timing on this will depend on the strength of your grill and how far from the heat your tray is.
9. While the fish is cooking, finish preparing the asparagus.
10. Melt butter in a large skillet and add asparagus. Dip the asparagus in the chilli/lime glaze. Sautee over medium-high heat, sprinkle with a small amount of sugar – just enough to dust all the stalks. Sautee until the asparagus beings to blister, around 2-4 minutes (if you like it on the softer side, sautee it longer). Serve immediately.
11. Transfer the cooked fillets onto warmed plates and top each with the sauce vierge, and place the asparagus beside the fillets to serve.

MUSIC I COOKED TO: