Cauliflower Pasta Sauce

I used the leftover cauliflower sauce on some tortellini and it was delicious! Just tossed it with a little grated pecorino. Yum!

Pan-Seared Bass in a Cauliflower Faux Cream Sauce with Sauteed Tomatoes and Pine Nuts

As part of bass week, I was crazing something a little more creamy. I'd seen something about a cauliflower sauce and wanted to try it. I had a great fish the other day at Montmartre that had a cream sauce, so that was my inspiration (plus wanting to try a cauliflower sauce). It was delicious. Jamie loved the cauliflower sauce and wants to put it on everything. The best part is, it's actually pretty healthy. Certainly way healthier than any cream sauce. The cooked tomatoes give a little brightness and the pine nuts add a good texture.

Ingredients:

2 big single servings of bass

1 small head cauliflower, broken into florets

4 cloves roasted garlic

8 cherry tomatoes

1 tbsp pine nuts

olive oil

salt and pepper

Directions:

Pat dry and season the fish with salt and pepper. Put the cauliflower a pot and cover with water and add salt. Bring to a boil and cook until very tender, about 10 minutes.

Bass Tacos

Another bass recipe! I love fish tacos, and they're easy and pretty healthy. These were extra delicious and I can't wait to make them again with some of our frozen bass. Blackening the bass a little gives it a more meaty, BBQ flavor.

Ingredients:
A 3" thick bass fillet (or bigger if there are more of you)
A little chili powder, cumin, salt, and pepper
Corn tortillas
Red onion, sliced
Jalapeno, sliced
Avocado, sliced
Cilantro, chopped
Tomatillo salsa

Directions:
Season the bass fillet with salt, pepper, cumin, and chili powder.

Striped Bass Ceviche

Another bass recipe! Ceviche. I love making ceviche, and this one is very easy. It's perfect with super fresh fish (other thick, white fish will work well too, like mahi mahi). 

Ingredients:

1 1/2" thick striped bass fillet, diced

Striped Bass en Papillote

For my first bass recipe, I made Striped Bass en Papillote with Brown Rice. It's pretty simple, and the provencal/Mediterranean-style sauce is sweet from the tomatoes and briny from the capers. It's also great for not making a mess because the fish is cooked in tin foil which you can just throw it out.

Serves 2

Ingredients:

2 1-inch pieces of striped bass filet

1 medium sized ripe tomato, or a handful of grape tomatoes, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp drained capers

4 sprigs thyme

4 slices lemon (I used lime because I didn't have lemons, but I think lemon would work better)

salt and pepper

Brown rice cooked according to the directions (I used a Lundberg brown rice mix - it adds great nutty flavor and texture)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400. Pat the fillets dry and season with salt. Line a baking sheet with tin foil and drizzle a bit of olive oil on it, then place the fish on top of the oil. Slide the lemon slices under the fish and top each with two sprigs of thyme.

Bass Week 2013

This week on the blog is going to be Bass Week. On Sunday I went fishing for striped bass in Montauk with some friends. It was so much fun! We chartered a fishing boat and pushed off at 5:30am. 

It was an early start for sure, but worth it. We caught the most fish right before/at sunrise. Maria caught this huge 35 lb striper.

I was catching bluefish for a while but finally reeled in two stripers.

Corn Broth and Frozen Corn

At the end of the summer, I suggest everyone goes out and buys 2 dozen ears of corn to freeze. Late August/September corn is so delicious, and having some on hand in the winter is such a treat. I like to saute it with chorizo, make corn and black bean salad, or make lobster corn fritters. Just throw the husked corn into boiling water for 2-3 minutes, then cut the kernels off the cobs. Put them into several ziploc sandwich bags and throw them in the freezer. So easy.

I also like to take all of the leftover cobs and put them back in the pot of water with a few onions and sprigs of basil and let it cook for an hour or so until you get this amazing corn broth. (You can throw in carrots or scallions or other herbs too.) I put that in the freezer, then use it for corn soups or chowders. It really adds an extra, deep, sweet corn flavor.