Zuni Fish

We decided to make a fish recipe from The Zuni Café Cookbook by Judy Rodgers. We made Sea Bass with Leeks, Potatoes, & Thyme. It is definitely a one dish meal. We purchased the fish at McCall’s Meat and Fish. This would make a great dish on a cool night.

Sea Bass with Leeks, Potatoes, & Thyme

The Zuni Café Cookbook

Judy Rodgers

Sort of a bass bonne femme, the fish being cooked in a chunky stew of leeks and potatoes that recalls that traditional French soup. We use plump white sea bass fillets, but black bass and turbot are good alternatives. The fillets need to be between 1 and 1-1/2 inches thick in order to cook properly, which means avoiding tail pieces.

The first time you make this dish, plan to watch it closely while it is in the very hot oven (all of about 10 minutes]. My pan placement instructions and cooking times are necessarily only guidelines - you may need to adjust one or both to the characteristics of your oven, pan, or fish.

for 4 servings:

4 pieces sea bass fillet, about 6 ounces each and 1 to 1-1/2 inches thick

Salt

About 3/4 pound peeled yellow-fleshed potatoes, preferably yellow Finnish, Bintje, or German Butterballs, cut into irregular bite-sized chunks

1-1/2 cups diced or thinly sliced leeks (including a little bit of the green part)

A few sprigs of fresh thyme

About 1-1/4 cups Chicken Stock

A splash or so of dry white vermouth 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, sliced and chilled

A trickle of Champagne vinegar or white wine vinegar, if needed

Seasoning the fish (For the best flavor, do this a few hours in advance}: Season the fish lightly and evenly with salt. Cover loosely and refrigerate.

Cooking the fish:

Preheat the broiler. Position the rack so it is about 6 inches from the element.

Place the potatoes in a saucepan, add cold water to cover, and set over medium heat. Season liberally with salt (we use a scant 1-1/2 teaspoons sea salt per quart}, stir, and taste. The water should taste as seasoned as you would like the potatoes to be. Cook the potatoes at a gentle simmer until quite tender and soft on the edges, about 5 minutes. (Some of the soft potatoes will later diffuse in the sauce, giving the dish its homey character.)

Drain the potatoes well and place them, still steaming, in a 12- or 14-inch ovenproof skillet. Add the leeks, thyme, about 1 cup of the chicken stock, and a splash of vermouth. Set over medium heat and swirl as the broth comes to a simmer. Add about 4 tablespoons of the butter, and swirl until it melts. Taste for salt. Reduce the heat to low and add the fish. Swirl and tilt the pan to baste the surface of the fish with the buttery broth. The liquid level should rise as the bass releases moisture into the broth. If it doesn't, add a little more chicken stock.

Make sure no bits of leek are stuck to the sides of the pan, or marooned on top of the fish, and place the pan under the broiler. Cook until the surface of the fish and potatoes is lightly gratineed, about 5 or 6 minutes. The liquid should be bubbling vigorously. Reduce the oven temperature to 500. Cook until the fish is medium-rare, another 1 to 5 minutes.

While the fish is cooking, set a small, shallow platter and four plates to warm in the oven for a minute or so, then remove.

Transfer the fish pan to the stovetop. Using a spatula and tongs, lift the fish, tilt to drain slightly, then place on the warm platter, protected from drafts (don't stack the pieces of fish). The fish will finish cooking as it rests.

Swirl the pan gently over medium heat to encourage the potatoes to thicken the sauce as it simmers. Taste. Add the remaining butter and adjust the salt. Tilt the platter of fish over the pan and carefully drain any liquid into the simmering sauce. Continue simmering to reduce the sauce as needed, until it has a little body, then taste again. If it seems flat, add a splash of vermouth or a few drops of vinegar. (Don't reach for lemon; its perfume can easily dominate all others and, it is out of character for this dish.) Transfer the fish to the warmed plates and spoon the sauce and potatoes over all.

Note: At Zuni, this dish and the two fish dishes that follow brown and reduce beautifully in our brick oven; the burner-then-hot-broiler technique mimics those blistering conditions.