Sunday, March 8, 2009

Domestic Diva's Sea Bass with Roasted Eggplant Puree & Olive and Yellow Grape Tomato Ceviche


The Diva here to share her Sunday night dinner recipe. As last reported, I was about to venture on my grocery store crusade for dinner. After a few twists and turns, I settled on a Charlie Trotter (my favorite chef) inspired recipe! See my Amazon Store at the bottom of my page for his cookbooks. Earlier this week, I received beautiful organic eggplant as part of my weekly organic veggie delivery. Then, at Whole Foods, I found a great piece of buttery Sea Bass. Using Charlie Trottor's flavor profiles, I decided to pair the fish with black olives. I thew in some lovely yellow grape tomatoes, and presto chango, a lovely, light dish with deep, harmonious flavors.

While my puppy, The Adorable Monster, held vigil waiting for my return home, I loaded my grocery cart for the week with goodies including organic stew beef and all natural pork tenderloin. Stay tuned this week for two more Charlie Trotter inspired recipes utilizing these proteins. When I returned home, I set to work on my dinner, inspired by a glass of wine and a conversation with my mom, the Original Diva. Even though this dinner was one of my boyfriend, Kuzak's, least favorite given his dislike for both eggplant and olives, even he was forced to admit the dinner was tasty, right? Well, at least, he did say the fish was "well-cooked," so I'll take that!!

"Kuzak, when is the Diva coming home?"
The Adorable Monster, holding vigil on the sofa.


I paired the dish with a light salad of organic mixed greens and cherry tomatoes tossed in a balsamic vinagerette, for a complete, healthy meal. Without further ado, here's my recipe.

Domestic Diva's Sea Bass with Roasted Eggplant Puree & Olive and Yellow Grape Tomato Ceviche

1 eggplant peeled and diced
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup black olives chopped
1/4 yellow grape tomatoes (can sub regular cherry tomatoes) chopped
2 4 oz filets of Sea Bass (Halibut, or another steaky fish would work)
1 tbsp grapeseed oil
1 tbsp lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Toss the eggplant with the 1 tsp of salt and allow to rest for 3o minutes.



Rinse the eggplant with water to wash off the salt and transfer to a roasting pan. Add 1/2 inch of water and roast the eggplant for 40 minutes, or until soft. Puree half the eggplant (reserving the other half), adding the roasting liquid as needed, until smooth.

Reserved Roasted Eggplant

Combine the olives, tomatoes and lemon juice, tossing together to combine into a "ceviche." Salt and pepper to taste.


To cook the sea bass, salt and pepper the filets. In a saute pan, heat the grapeseed oil over medium high heat. Then add the filets, cooking for a few minutes on each side until cooked through.


To plate, spread the eggplant puree in the bottom of the dish. Add the reserved eggplant.


Top with the sea bass. Then, spread the ceviche on top the fish and enjoy!


Wine Tasting Notes: Hitching Post Highliner 2006 Pinor Noir

Diva Rating: 2 Stars (out of 5 Stars)


If you've seen "Sideways," then you've heard of The Hitching Post, and if you haven't, then welcome to your education! Curious based on the movie, I picked up a bottle to taste. The Highliner is their best bottling, a combination of grapes from several Santa Barbara area vineyards. The resulting wine was while highly drinkable, not a memorable wine. Light-bodied and somewhat tepid, it went down easily, but felt like it lacked depth and character. For the price, I would opt for other wines, but in truth, as I write this, I'm still nursing a glass. In short, this wine has Drinkability, thank you Bud Light, but not Memoribility. 'Nough said!

Stay tuned this week for recipes including:

-Guest Blog from Piccante Dolce!!! Trust me, this one will be a real treat!
-Braised Beef Stew with Cardamon

-Pork Tenderloin with Greens & Bacon

4 comments:

  1. What a fantastic sea bass preparation!

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  2. That looks like a very tasty seabass recipe. I found your blog through Picante Dolce... so just wanted to say high! You have some great recipes here!

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  3. Thanks to you both!! I promise you, this recipe is a must try. It's not that hard to make, and the flavors are subtle but amazing. Try adding some fresh basil to the ceviche for an extra treat. And, I have to credit both Charlie Trotter and David Myers of Sona (who trained under Trotter) for the inspiration for the eggplant with fish.

    xoxo
    The Diva

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  4. P.S. I LOVE JEN H.! Check back tomorrow - she did an amazing guest blog recipe for me I can't wait to post!

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