Jack Stein’s Sunday Brunch sea bass recipe

As seen on Sunday Brunch – Jack Stein’s sea bass with vanilla vinaigrette recipe is a simple classic from The Seafood Restaurant in Padstow. Perfect to recreate for a dinner party at home using sea bass fillets from Stein’s Online Fishmonger – we deliver to your door, nationwide. If you’d prefer to leave it to the seafood experts, you can enjoy the dish on the menu at Rick Stein, Winchester.

Serves 2

Ingredients

4 sea bass fillets, about 100g each
100g unsalted butter
½ vanilla pod
50ml vermouth
2 tsp white wine vinegar
1 shallot, peeled and halved
150ml fish stock
25g peeled, seeded and diced tomato
1 tbsp coarsely chopped fresh chervil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

Brush both sides of the sea bass fillets with a little melted butter and season with salt and pepper.

For the vinaigrette, split the vanilla pod open lengthways, scrape out the seeds with a small teaspoon and then chop the pod very finely.

Put the seeds and pod into a small pan with the vermouth, vinegar and shallot, bring to the boil and boil for a few minutes until reduced to about 1 tablespoon. Add the fish stock and boil once more until reduced to about 3 tablespoon.

Remove the shallot halves, then add the remaining butter, plus the tomato, chervil, ¼tsp of salt and 6 turns of the pepper mill. Keep just warm over a very low heat.

Heat a lightly oiled cast-iron ribbed pan until very hot. Cook the fish fillets, skin-side down, for 1 minute, pressing down on top of each fillet in turn with the back of a fish slice to help mark them with the lines of the griddle. Turn and cook for 30 seconds of the other side.

To serve, put the fish fillets of two warmed plates and spoon the vinaigrette to the side. Great with some simple new potatoes and your favourite greens,