Trawlers Recipe for fillets of Crispy Skin Looe day boat Sea Bass on a leek and potato rosti with a cream, saffron and Camel Valley wine sauce

Recipe by Mark Napper Executive Chef Proprietor at Trawlers

A popular local Cornish fish and if line caught is good for the sea environment. We advise that you ask your fishmonger to fillet the fish for you, as some sea bass bones can be very sharp. It is a moist and delicately flavoured fish and lends itself to be accompanied by a range of sauces and garnishes. When in season fresh local asparagus is an excellent vegetable to serve with sea bass.

6 to 8 ounces of filleted local sea bass per portion, cut into two fillets, season and place to one side, Mark suggests if you wish to pep up the flavour sprinkle with Cajun spices ‘Trawlers style’

The Rosti
550 grm of grated Cornish Downderry, or your own locally raised potatoes
2 locally laid eggs, lightly beaten
One onion very finely chopped
One leek very finely chopped
A pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
Season with sea salt and ground black pepper to taste
Two teaspoons of virgin olive oil
15 gms of unsalted Rodda’s Cornish, or local butter

Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl and place in a preheated pan with a tablespoon of virgin olive oil and press down - cook on medium heat for 5 minutes then turn over and cook for another 5 minutes until golden brown. A nice presentational touch is to press individual portions of Rosti into rings, which you can buy at most ‘Cook Shops’. Place in a warm oven to crisp up and now prep the sauce.

The sauce
Two finely chopped shallots sweated down in a little butter, add 10 fluid ounces of Camel Valley Atlantic or another English Dry white wine and reduce by two thirds over a medium heat, take off heat and stir in 125 gms of unsalted butter cut into small cubes and a few strands of saffron. When the butter infused stir in two tablespoons of Rhodda’s Cornish, or local cream, season to taste, pass through a sieve and keep warm.

Finally
Take the fillets of sea bass and place skin side down in a hot non-stick frying pan with a tablespoon of oil and cook for 4 to 5 minutes, turn over and cook for same time on the other side.
Place portions or individual circles of Rosti in centre of the plate and layer the two fillets of sea bass on top, poor a cordon of sauce around the fish on the plate, garnish with fresh herbs and serve. We often top the fish with a fine-diced roasted red pepper. Serve with fresh local seasonal vegetables of your choice. We find that the simpler the vegetables are prepared the better, so that they do not compete with the rest of the dish. You can also add a few mussels, we source ours from Fowey, which are delicious as well as ‘decorative’ to the dish. They only need to be ‘simmered’ in the sauce for a few minutes before serving.