8 each Local caught black bass, scaled, cleaned & filleted
Kosher salt as needed
Fresh cracked black pepper as needed
Unsalted butter as needed
4 ounces corn oil

Be sure to scale the fish very well before gutting and filleting the fish.  Be sure to rinse the fillets under cold water to clean off any scales still stuck to fillets.  After the fish has been filleted you want to get all of the excess water out of the skin so it will crisp up when cooking.  The way to do this is to drag the blade of your knife over the skin of the fish pressing down gently but firmly, then drag the knife back over the skin squeezing the water off of the skin. Repeat this process several times until you have gotten as much of the water out as possible. This will allow for a crisp skin without over cooking the fish.  Then using a paper towel pat the skin dry and with a sharp knife make 4-5 small incisions on each fillet about 1 inch long across the skin.  Scoring the skin will help prevent the fish from curling, this happens when heat is add to the skin and it shrinks pulling on the delicate flesh that it is attached to, causing the flesh to curl under. When storing the fillets place the fillets skin side down on a paper towel then roll each fillet separately in the paper towel, set on a plate and place in the refrigerator until needed.

Heat large cast iron pans over medium to high heat. Once the pans are hot (about 500 degrees) add 2 ounces of oil to each pan. Season bass with freshly cracked black pepper and kosher salt then sear skin side down.  Using the tip of a Fish spatula lightly press down on the flesh of the bass to ensure that the skin of the fish is lying flat in the pan to ensure even browning & crisping of the skin.  Occasionally tilt the skillet and using a table’s spoon, spoon the hot oil over the flesh of the bass basting it.  After the skin starts to become golden brown and crispy add a little butter to richen and enhance the natural sweetness of the bass. Once the skin is nice and crispy it at this point you want to gently flip the fish over so that the flesh side is down and the skin is up.  You then want to remove the pans with the bass in them from the heat and allow the carry over heat to finish the cooking process; this will ensure the fish doesn’t become over cooked. As the fish is finishing the cooking process this is when you want to start setting up your plates 

Sauce:

1 ounce ginger, peeled & sliced
Juice & zest of 2 orange, separated
Juice of ½ lime
Juice of ½ lemon
Zest of 1 lemon
Zest of 1 lime
2 ounces honey
2/3 cup heavy cream
¼ sweet butter
1 shallot, minced
6 peppercorns
1 bay leaf, fresh

In a medium sauté pan over medium heat sweat the shallots with a small amount of fat until the shallots are translucent. Then deglaze with orange juice, lime juice, lemon juice, and add the ginger, bay leaf & peppercorns.  Allow to reduce, slowly over low to medium heat until reduced by 2/3, then, add ½ cup of heavy cream and allow to reduce by ¼ strain through a chinois, set aside and keep warm until just before you are ready to plate your entrée.  Then return to heat and bring back up to temperature, once hot remove from heat and whisk in ¼ lb. of softened room temperature unsalted butter to emulsify sauce and garnish with ½ of the zest from the citrus fruits, sauce and serve the dish.

Vegetable

½ Zucchini, small dice
½ Red pepper (Paysanne)
½ Yellow squash, small diced
2 ears of white corn, shucked and cut from the cob
½ Spanish onion, small dice
½ Cup Baby Lima Beans, blanched
24 stalks asparagus
Fresh local herbs
Chives whole & minced
1.5 ounces Herb Butter

In a medium pot of salted water blanch the tomato for concasse and shock in ice water, and then blanch the asparagus and baby lima beans once cooked shock in ice water. Remove the asparagus & baby lima beans, dry and set aside. Remove the tomato, peel, seed and dice and then place in a strainer and allow drip-drying until needed. Just before service in a medium sauté pan over medium heat, place 1 oz. unsalted butter and lightly sauté the onions until translucent then add the corn until almost tender. Next add the squashes and lima beans. Lastly add the Tomato concasse and brunoise of red pepper toss lightly to warm through then season with kosher salt & cracked black pepper. Pour in to a strainer to remove any excess moister, this will help to prevent run off on your plate, which can ruin not only the presentation but also the sauce by way of diluting it, or color bleed through.

Sweet Potatoes Puree:
5 each Medium sweet potatoes or yams (roasted until tender then peeled & pureed)

3 ounces Sweet Butter
Orange zest, to taste
Lemon Zest, to taste
Lime Zest, to taste
Rosemary minced, to taste
1 Russet potato (peeled and boiled)

Pre-heat an oven to 400 degrees. Then rub the sweet potatoes or yams with very little corn oil & kosher salt, loosely wrap with foil leaving the top open slightly and place on a roasting rack over a baking sheet and bake until soft, about 45 minutes.  Once cooked, let sit for two minutes.  While potatoes are sitting, heat ¼ cup heavy cream, 1 sprig of fresh rosemary, and 1 ounce of unsalted butter in a small sauté pan over low heat, then puree the sweet potatoes in a ricer and press through a tamis screen. Remove the rosemary sprig from the cream & butter mixture and whip into the sweet potatoes. Season with salt and pepper to taste, fresh rosemary minced and zest of orange, lemon & lime to taste, place in a double boiler to keep warm until service

Plate Assembly

1 each Medium sweet potato (shredded on Japanese mandolin for sweet potato hay)

Kosher Salt, to taste
Cracked Black Pepper, to taste
Minced Rosemary, to taste

5 pounds Golden tile fish, scaled, cleaned & filleted
Kosher salt as needed
Fresh cracked black pepper as needed
1 teaspoon fresh chives minced
1 teaspoon fresh rosemary minced
1 ounce lemon oil

Pre-heat an oven to 400; then season the fish by rubbing a little lemon-oil all over the flesh and skin of the fish.  Season with the herbs, freshly ground black pepper and sea salt, then place on a sheet pan skin side down and roast in oven for about 12-15 min or until fish is just cooked.

Tomato & Fennel Salad

1 ½ pounds Assorted Jersey heirloom tomatoes
1 clove garlic minced
20 fresh basil leaves roughly chopped
1 small fennel bulb julienned
Freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
Coarse sea salt, to taste
4 ounces extra virgin olive oil

First be sure tomatoes are nice and ripe but not mushy, they should also be room temperature and not refrigerated, this will allow you to get the most natural flavor out of the tomato. Cut the tomatoes in random shapes according to the size and shape of the tomato, for example, if using a grape or pear shaped tomato cut them in half or if using a medium sized tomato cut them into quarters. In a medium size bowl add your tomatoes, julienne of fennel, minced garlic, basil and season with the salt & pepper, drizzle with the olive oil and toss until well blended.  Set aside.

Arugula Salad

½ pound baby arugula, washed and dried
½ small red onion, peeled and julienned
1 cup of canned cannellini beans, rinsed
Juice of ½ of lemon
Freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
Coarse sea salt, to taste