Pan-fried Sea Bass with Citrus Fruit, Fennel and Coriander

Ingredients

Contains: milk, fish (auto-detected from the ingredients and method; we can miss things, so check labels)

• 4 x 225g/8oz sea bass
• 2 tbsp coriander seeds
• 50g/2oz unsalted butter
• 1 red grapefruit
• 3 lemons
• 5 oranges
• extra virgin olive oil
• salt and freshly ground white pepper
• 50g/2oz butter
• 1 shallot
• 1 garlic
• 2 fennel
• 100ml/3½fl oz pastis
• 100ml/3½fl oz vermouth
• 600ml/1 pint fresh orange juice
• 2 whole star anise
• 1 orange
• 3 plum tomatoes
• small bunch fresh coriander

Also mentioned in the method: fish

Directions

Method written by CompKitchen from the ingredient list. Not the original author's method, not kitchen-tested.

1. Lightly crush the coriander seeds in a dry pan over medium heat until fragrant, about 2 minutes, then set aside.

2. Peel and segment the red grapefruit and two of the oranges over a bowl to catch the juice. Zest the lemons and the single orange, then juice the lemons and the single orange.

3. Trim the fennel, halve it, and thinly slice it. Finely chop the shallot and garlic. Melt the 50g/2oz butter with a splash of olive oil and cook the fennel, shallot and garlic gently for about 8 minutes until soft.

4. Add the pastis, vermouth, 600ml/1 pint orange juice, star anise, crushed coriander seeds and the lemon juice. Simmer for about 12 minutes until reduced by about half, then remove the star anise.

5. Score the plum tomatoes, drop them into a pan of boiling water for 30 seconds, then peel, deseed and dice them. Stir the tomatoes, citrus zest and remaining orange segments into the sauce and keep warm.

6. Off the heat, whisk the 50g/2oz unsalted butter into the sauce, a cube at a time. Season with salt and freshly ground white pepper and roughly chop the fresh coriander.

7. Pat the sea bass dry, score the skin, and season with salt and white pepper. Heat olive oil in a nonstick pan over medium-high heat and cook skin-side down for about 4 minutes, pressing gently.

8. Turn the fish, add a little unsalted butter, and cook for 1 to 2 minutes more until the flesh is opaque, flakes easily, and reaches 145°F (63°C).

9. Spoon the fennel and citrus sauce onto warm plates, top with the sea bass, and scatter over the grapefruit segments and chopped coriander. Serve immediately.