Best Striped Bass With Fresh Figs Recipes

OUR NEW FAVORITE STRIPED BASS RECIPE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400°F with a rack in the center.
• Into a large, heavy pan with a lid (such as this one or this one), place the shallots, bell pepper, tomatoes, garlic, capers, wine, stock, thyme, half the salt, and half the pepper. Give it a stir.
• Bake, covered, for 20 minutes.
• Pat striped bass fillets dry with paper towels.
• Carefully remove pan from oven and arrange filets in pan on top of sauce, nestling them in a bit. Sprinkle fish with remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and dot with butter.
• Return pan to oven, uncovered. Bake until fish is just cooked through, about 15 to 20 minutes depending on thickness. Sprinkle with the basil.
• To serve, place about a cup of orzo into each of four wide, shallow bowls and top each with a piece of fish. Spoon some veggies and plenty of sauce overtop.

SPICY SEARED STRIPED BASS AND CORN SALAD WITH FIGS AND PEACHES

Steps:

• Heat oil in large skillet and toss in spices and garlic and saute until garlic is dark golden. Remove star anise and garlic.
• Salt and pepper fish fillets. Sear skin side down first then turn and finish cooking.
• Toss together corn kernels watercress and scallions. Whisk together all dressing ingredients except oil. Then slowly drizzle in oil while continuing to whisk. Pour in enough oil so dressing becomes thick and creamy and not too acidic. Season, to taste, with salt, pepper and sugar.
• For the dressing: Whisk together the lemon juice, mayonnaise, Dijon, salt, pepper and sugar to taste. Whisk in the vegetable oil until emulsified. Toss the corn, watercress and scallions together and add enough of the dressing to coat the salad.

GRILLED STRIPED BASS WITH TOMATOES AND OLIVES

Steps:

• Prepare a grill or grill pan for medium-high heat; lightly oil the grill grates.
• Toss together the olives, parsley, vinegar, tomatoes and 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large bowl. Season lightly with salt and generously with pepper and toss again; set aside until juicy.
• Meanwhile, brush the fish on both sides with the remaining 1 tablespoon oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill the fish, skin side up, until it has strong grill marks and releases easily from the grill, about 5 minutes. Rotate it about 45 degrees to create a crosshatch pattern and continue to grill for another 3 minutes. Turn the fish over and cook until just opaque throughout and an instant-read thermometer inserted in the side registers about 135 degrees F, 5 minutes more. Transfer to a cutting board.
• Using the natural seams of the fish as a guide, cut into 4 pieces. Put a slice of bread on 4 serving plates. Top with a piece of fish and spoon the tomato mixture and its juices over the top.

STRIPED BASS WITH ARTICHOKES AND OLIVES

Steps:

• Position a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat to 475 degrees F. Season the fish with salt and pepper and refrigerate until ready to use. Remove the zest from the lemon using a vegetable peeler (reserve the lemon). Combine the lemon zest, parsley, garlic, 2 tablespoons olive oil and 1 teaspoon salt in a food processor. With the motor running, gradually add the bread and pulse several times to make coarse crumbs. Spread the breadcrumbs evenly in a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Arrange the artichokes, olives and tomatoes around the edge and bake until the exposed breadcrumbs in the middle are toasted, about 15 minutes. Remove the baking dish from the oven. Scoop out the toasted breadcrumbs and set aside. Add the fish to the baking dish and top with the toasted breadcrumbs. Bake until the fish is cooked through, about 15 minutes. Drizzle with the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil. Cut the reserved lemon into wedges and squeeze on top.

GRILLED STRIPED BASS

Steps:

• Combine oil, lemon juice, thyme or oregano, garlic, and pepper in a large shallow bowl. Add fish to marinade, and turn to coat; cover with plastic wrap, and place in the refrigerator 30 minutes.
• Heat a grill or grill pan over medium-high heat. Remove fish from marinade, letting excess drip off. Place on grill, skin side down, and season with salt. Grill until skin is lightly browned and starting to crisp. Carefully turn fillets, and cook until well browned and cooked through (center will be opaque), 5 to 6 minutes. Garnish with chives and lemon wedges, if desired. Serve hot or at room temperature.

PAN-FRIED STRIPED BASS WITH LEMON SAUCE

Steps:

• For the sauce, whisk together: 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, 1/4 teaspoon lemon zest, 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, Salt, Fresh-ground black pepper.
• Taste for salt and lemon juice and adjust as desired. The sauce will separate as it sits; this is not a problem.
• Season: 4 pieces striped bass, skin on (4 to 6 ounces each) with: Salt, Fresh-ground black pepper.
• Choose a heavy-bottomed pan for frying the fish. Take another, slightly smaller pan that will fit into the pan for the fish, and wrap its bottom with foil. This pan will be used as a weight to hold the fish flat against the frying pan to ensure that all of the skin will cook and crisp. (You will see the fish contract when it goes into the hot pan, as the skin shrinks on contact with the heat.) Warm the larger pan over medium-high heat. When hot, pour in: Olive oil, enough to generously coat the bottom.
• Add the pieces of bass, skin side down, and place the foil-wrapped pan on top of the fish. Cook until the skin is brown and crispy, about 7 minutes. Check now and then to see that the fish is indeed browning, but not overbrowning. Adjust the heat up or down to speed up or slow down the cooking as needed. When the skin is browned, remove the top pan and turn the fish. Cook for another minute or so, until the fish is just cooked through, but is still moist and tender inside. Meanwhile whisk the lemon sauce together again and pour it onto a warm plate. Serve the fish skin side up, on top of the sauce.
• Garnish the fish with a couple spoonfuls of chopped tender herbs such as parsley, chives, chervil, cilantro, or basil.
• Soak, rinse, and squeeze dry a tablespoon or so of capers. When the fish is cooked add the capers to the hot pan and sauté for a minute or two. Remove with a slotted spoon and scatter over the fish.
• Make a Beurre Blanc (Warm Butter Sauce; page 228) instead of the olive oil sauce.

STRIPED BASS WITH MUSHROOMS

Steps:

• Heat the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the shallots and thyme and cook until the shallots are translucent, about 7 minutes; season with salt and pepper. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until brown and tender, about 8 minutes. Discard the thyme sprigs.
• Meanwhile, season the fish with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in another large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the fish, skin-side down, and cook until the skin is crisp, 3 to 4 minutes; transfer to a plate. Add the wine to the skillet and scrape up any browned bits with a wooden spoon. Boil over high heat until syrupy, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the cream and simmer to thicken slightly, 2 to 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
• Pour the cream sauce over the mushrooms in the skillet, then add the fish, skin-side up. Simmer until the fish is just firm and translucent, 5 to 7 minutes. Garnish with parsley, if desired.

STRIPED BASS WITH FRESH FIGS

Steps:

• Place 1 tablespoon oil in a large skillet on medium heat. Add shallots and garlic and sauté until soft, about 5 minutes. Add figs and continue to sauté another minute or two, until they are warmed through and just start to soften. Sprinkle with cloves. Add saba and continue cooking until the syrup just coats the bottom of the pan. Stir in wine. Remove figs and as many shallots as you can from the pan, draining well.
• Increase heat to medium-high and cook sauce until wine has reduced by half. Reduce heat to medium-low. Add 2 tablespoons of the butter bit by bit, swirling it in. Cook a minute or so more, until sauce starts to become syrupy. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Remove from heat.
• Heat a broiler. Place rack about 4 inches from the source of heat. Dry fish. Dust skin side of bass or bottom side of halibut with flour. Flip fillet and season top surface well with salt and pepper. Heat remaining butter on medium-high in a large, heavy skillet, preferably cast iron. Place fish, floured side down, in skillet and sear 2 minutes. Brush top surface of fish with some of the sauce and place fish under the broiler. Broil about 7 minutes, until just cooked through. Remove from heat. Transfer fish to a warm platter.
• Return figs and shallots to the sauce, heat on medium a minute or so, then spoon sauce with figs around the fish on the platter. Serve.