CHILEAN SEA BASS WITH CELERIAC PURÉE & MORELS
Servings: 4 Prep Time: 1 Hour Cook Time: 40 Mins Total Time: 1 Hour 40 Mins
A luxurious pairing of buttery Chilean sea bass with earthy morels in a rich red wine sauce. The fish's delicate, flaky texture complements the intense flavour of wild mushrooms, while silky celeriac purée and wilted spinach complete this elegant dish. Serve with buttered new potatoes tossed in plentiful chopped fines herbes. Perfect for a special occasion dinner that looks restaurant-quality but is surprisingly achievable at home.
INGREDIENTS
- 4 x Chilean Sea Bass fillet
- 1 bag of baby leaf spinach
- 1 Small head of Celeriac
- 100ml Milk
- 100ml Water
- 40ml Double Cream
- 200g Fresh Morels or 50g Plantin Dried Morels
- 300ml of boiling water for Morel stock
- 1 Shallot - peeled and cut into large 6/8 pieces
- 1 Small Clove of Garlic - Peeled & halved
- 1 Sprig of Thyme
- 1 Bay Leaf
- 125ml Red Wine
- 20ml Double Cream
- Unsalted Butter
- Olive oil
- Salt & Pepper
METHOD
STEP ONE: PREP
Remove fish from freezer night before to defrost in fridge (150g per person). Rehydrate dried morels in 300ml boiling water for 45 mins, then strain liquid through kitchen paper. For fresh morels: rinse briefly in cold water until clean, pat dry.
STEP TWO: MOREL SAUCE
Sweat shallots and garlic in olive oil until soft. Add red wine, reduce by two-thirds. Add morel soaking liquid (or stock if using fresh morels), reduce by half. Add splash of cream, simmer until sauce coats back of spoon. Strain, season, set aside.
STEP THREE: CELERIAC PURÉE
Sweat cubed celeriac in butter (no colour, 15 mins). Add milk, water, cream and simmer until soft. Blend with enough cooking liquid to achieve smooth, thick consistency. Season and cover.
STEP FOUR: COOK FISH
Preheat oven to 180°C fan. Pat fish skin dry, season lightly. Fry skin-side down in hot olive oil, pressing flat with fish slice until skin edges turn golden. Transfer to baking tray skin-side up.
STEP FIVE: FINISH & PLATE
Warm sauce and purée. Sauté spinach briefly with butter. In same pan, briefly fry morels with butter until coloured. Place fish in oven for 4-5 minutes. Swipe celeriac purée across plate, add spinach, arrange morels (odd numbers), top with fish. Pour sauce around, not over fish. Serve with buttered new potatoes tossed in fines herbes.
