Sea Bass with Lemon and White Wine

Yum
By now you know I have a daughter that loves to fish and my husband does as well. Just a couple of days ago my husband had an opportunity to go fishing with long-time friend and lobster man for sea bass. When I heard that's what they were fishing for I was thrilled! My first taste of bass was not long ago when I was treated to a dinner with people I had worked with many years ago. I got to taste the Chilean Sea Bass that someone else ordered and I fell in love.

Sea bass fished from waters somewhere in the vicinity of Long Island Sound was just as good, flaky, tender and scrumptious. For the record Chilean Sea Bass is also known as Patagonian Toothfish and is found in waters near Antarctica. The following is a statement I found on Joes Kitchen.com:

"The Chileans were the first to market toothfish commercially in the United States, earning it the name Chilean sea bass, although it is really not a bass and it is not always caught in Chilean waters. It is a different species type than the sea bass caught in U.S. waters. Because of its white meat appeal, Chilean sea bass usually fetches premium prices in specialty markets and high-end restaurants. It is a deep-water fish that can live up to 50 years and grow to weigh over 200 pounds."

We had 2 1/2 pounds of sea bass fillets to cook and so we invited my daughter and her partner to come have dinner with us. I did these fillets the way I have done thick cod fillets and it was delicious. It is my understanding that sea bass can be very expensive and it may not be for everyone's budget. So taking that into consideration you could also make this recipe using any flaky white fish.

• 8 bass fillets
• 1/4 cup white wine (The kind you would drink. I used Chardonnay.)
• 8 thin slices of lemon - plus extra for squeezing over the fish
• 1 sleeve (29 crackers) Ritz® crackers
• 1 tbsp. dried parsley flakes
• 1/4 tsp. table ground black pepper
• 1 tsp. granulated garlic or garlic powder
• 4 tbsp. melted butter
• kosher salt to taste (for the fish)
• freshly ground black pepper to taste (for the fish)

1. Preheat your oven to 350°.
2. Season both sides of the fillets with salt and pepper to taste.
3. Place a thin slice of lemon in a baking dish (large enough to hold the fillets) and place a fillet on top. Repeat this for as many fillets as you have.
4. Melt your butter.
5. Place the cracker in a zip lock bag and crush with a rolling pin. Place the crackers in a bowl and add in the dried parsley flakes, the 1/4 tsp. black pepper and the melted butter. Mix well.
6. Sprinkle as much of the cracker topping over each fillet. If you have left over, store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Label what it is and date it. You can keep it in the refrigerator for 3-4 weeks.
7. Squeeze a little more lemon juice on top of the fish and add in the wine.
8. Bake the bass uncovered for approximately 28 minutes. The fish should be opaque and starting to flake.

We served ours with corn off the cob, a garden salad and french fries. The sea bass turned out amazing.
This is definitely a recipe you'll want to adapt for all kinds of white fish. Our fillets were about 3/4" in thickness so the cooking time was perfect. I had set my timer for 30 minutes but the 28 minutes turned out to be just the ticket!