Chilean Sea Bass Over A Roasted Vegetable Quinoa Medley
Beautiful, succulent dishes don’t have to be difficult. Although my photo isn’t much to be desired this dish is. I’m still struggling with my camera. While this photo appeared to look perfect when shot, I sat down to enjoy the meal while still warm, and after indulging, I uploaded the photos to my computer, only to see that most were not clear.
I hated to just scrap this dish and not share it with you. So I decided to use this photo (the best of the lot) in hopes that you all would get an idea of how it should look, and be plated – a sprinkling of fresh herbs on top would be nice as well. Mostly though, I wanted to share with you how simple this is to prepare – especially for those of you terrified of cooking fish.
The technique for cooking this fish isn’t “poaching” since that would require the fish to cook gently in liquid just below the boiling point, when the liquid’s surface is beginning to show some quivering movement. Instead I suppose I could call it “steeping” even though we’re not looking to add flavor to the water.
The recipe below is prepared in three (3) separate steps, each quite simple to master. Once completed the dish will magically disappear before your eyes – it’s that good!
If you’ve never had Sea Bass before it’s a mild, yet buttery flavored fish. I consider it the Rolls Royce of the sea!
Although I’ve added little to no seasoning, IMO it really doesn’t need it. All the ingredients together create a wonderful clean flavor!
Read below to learn my simple technique for cooking the Sea Bass, along with the rest of the recipe. I think you’ll like it…………
Chilean Sea Bass Over A Roasted Vegetable Quinoa Medley
Ingredients:
- I container grape tomatoes, cut in half
- 1 large yellow onion, cubed
- 1 butternut squash, skinned and cubed
- Olive Oil
- 1 cup Quinoa
- 2 cups water
- 2 cups fresh spinach
- Salt & Pepper, to taste
- 4 (6-8 oz.) pieces of Chilean Sea Bass
Directions:
- Roasted Vegetables: Place tomatoes, onions, and butternut squash on a foil lined baking sheet and drizzle gently with olive oil. Toss to coat.
- Place in a 425F degree oven and roast for approximtely 20 minutes or until fork tender - remove from oven.
- Quinoa: Rinse quinoa well then place in a saucepan with 2 cups of water - following manufacturers directions. When most of the liquid in gone add spinach, stirring until wilted and bright green.
- Sea Bass: In a deep saucepan add water deep enough that it will cover the Sea Bass when it is added.
- Bring water to a boil. Add Sea Bass - turn heat off - cover with lid.
- Leave Sea Bass in hot water with lid on for 20 minutes.
- Plate: Add roasted vegetables to the quinoa mixture adding salt & pepper to taste, if desired. In a bowl or plate add a mound of the roasted vegetable quinoa medley and top each with a 6-8 ounce piece of Sea Bass. Be sure to remove the Sea Bass from the water with a slotted spatula, that will drain the water. This is my favorite fish spatula from Williams Sonoma.
- Optional: Drizzle with fresh herbs. Serve.
Note: Whenever purchasing fish I recommend checking the Monterrey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch website to be sure you're purchasing the best fish possible. Here's what they say about Sea Bass.
Hi, I’m Vicki Bensinger! I have been teaching culinary classes throughout Missouri since 1992. I offer personalized private culinary classes for individuals and small groups in the comfort of your home or organization.
We love sea bass and this looks like a WONDERFUL preparation Vicki! I can’t imagine a healthier, more delicious dinner!
No kidding! It really is healthy and so satisfying. I hope you’ll give it a try.
Gosh, what a great dish! Love the way all the ingredients work together. The photo, alas, does have a bit of blur. Are you using a tripod? My photography improved immensely once I started using one. Terrific recipe, though — thanks.
Unfortunately I didn’t have the tripod out and rarely do at dinner time. I guess I need to start thinking ahead. For some reason though I feel like it won’t help. I think I had this in Aperture Priority mode.
Looks beautiful, Vicki! Have a great weekend!
Thanks Liz.
Absolutely my kind of dish! Am not sure I can access Chilean Sea Bass and would not try, as I prefer to ‘go Australian’ in all possible ways whenever I can, but methinks the same methodology would well work with other similar fish as well! Yes, DO have a lovely weekend – here we are half way thru’ it already 🙂 !
Honestly any fish will do. We prefer mild tasting fish and I love the buttery taste of Sea Bass so I opted for that. Select whichever suits your family, although a white fish lends a nice contrast to the quinoa mix.
wow look at that meaty tender sea bass! Totally irresistible!
Have a wonderful weekend, Vicki!
Angie
Thanks Angie, you too!
We love sea bass and this sounds really good! Love the light flavor for sea bass, too. Thanks for introducing fish spatula. I never knew such thing existed. I’m tempted to buy… looking at amazon to see if they have one. 😀
I can’t live without this spatula. In fact I accidentally left it at a clients home and just told them to keep it. I ran out instantly to get another one. It’s perfect for getting right between the meat and the skin to separate if you want, drains any liquid if needed and has a nice angle and length to capture a single portion perfectly. I highly recommend one.
You cooked that sea bass to perfection! I like that method. The meal looks fantastic. Thanks for sharing 🙂 ela
This method of cooking is foolproof in my opinion. It’s great for those nervous about preparing fish. If you’ve never tried it you should. Grilling or roasting add an added dimension and flavor I think but this technique gets the fish perfectly done without any charring or added color. If you try it I’d love to hear what you think.
The quinoa medley is absolutely delicious! I love this healthy yet flavourful dinner 😀
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
Thank you I hope you’ll give it a try.
I hate it when that happens! Especially with food photography because usually the food is consumed before you realise meaning there’s no chance of a re-shoot. I think your image is fine – it shows how beautifully plated this dish is xx
I know, it seems to be the story of so many of my photos. While I’m shooting my family keeps saying, “are you going to join us?” So I end up stopping my photos then later to discover they were less than perfect. One of these days I’ll master it.