Summer, sun (finally!), and seabass.

It’s finally feeling like summertime in San Diego! I thought we lost our picture perfect weather forever, but it’s peering it’s pretty head for the start of July. Funny enough, this time last year San Diego had searing hot temperatures, maybe that’s why we’re starting summer a little late this year. Whatever the case may be, it doesn’t matter to me, I’m just glad it’s back to beautiful in my city.

What does postcard like weather mean for me? Light and bright recipes, lots of grilling, white wines and rose in the yard, summer produce at its best, and seafood! So I headed to our favorite fish monger, Catalina Offshore Product, to see what caught (pun intended) my eye.

I decided on a wild caught white seabass and bought one pound to make a dinner for two. I kept the ingredients simple -cherry tomatoes, kale, garlic, white wine, lemon juice and butter to top the fish. I seasoned the seabass with salt and pepper then seared it in a hot pan. As I always say, the fish from Catalina is so fresh and tasty that I don’t do much to make this fish dish shine.

Ingredients:

1 lb of white seabass or any other mild white fish

1 pint of cherry tomatoes sliced in half

1 small bunch of kale

2 teaspoons of chopped garlic

1/2 cup of white wine (use the good stuff – no cooking wine here)

3 tablespoons of grass fed butter (I use unsalted Kerrygold from Ireland)

Olive Oil

Salt and Pepper to taste

Season fish with salt and pepper. Heat 1 tablespoon of butter and 1 tablespoon of olive oil in medium hot pan. Place the seabass skin side down and sear for about 3-5 minutes depending on thickness. In another pan over medium heat add 1 tablespoon of oil and sauté the garlic and kale for 3 minutes. Add the cherry tomatoes and continue sautéing for another 3 minutes. Add the white wine and cook down for another 2 minutes. Slide the seabass into the pan with the tomatoes and add remaining butter. Cook on medium low heat for 3-4 more minutes basting the fish with the sauce until cook through. Plate up the fish and serve immediately.

I roasted broccoli in olive oil, salt, and pepper and boiled fingerling potatoes until tender to serve with the fish. I love using the potatoes to mop up the tomato sauce as well!

Wine to pair?

The same white wine I used to cook the fish with, which happened to be a Cotes du Rhone out of southern Rhone valley. I picked up half a case of this lovely wine from one of our favorite wine shops, WineSeller and Brasserie, that just happen to be down the street, which is trouble, but that’s for another post. So pour yourself a glass of white wine and enjoy this summertime fare.