Pan fried Seabass

Pan fried Seabass
I’ve learned that the simpler you prepare most fish, the better. I like to
pan-fry sea bass fillets for a quick supper at home with my wife after
the boys have gone to bed. The fish goes well with lots of things—
a mixed leaf or endive salad, pasta or rice, or new potatoes tossed
with chopped fresh mint and butter.
serves 4
1 whole sea bass, weighing
1/2–3lb (1.1–1.35kg), scaled,
cleaned, and cut into 2 long fillets (ask the fishmonger
to do this you should end up with fillets weighing about 300g/10oz each)
olive oil
sea salt and freshly milled
white pepper

Check for tiny pin bones in the flesh side of the fish and pull
them out with pliers. Turn the fish over and score the skin, then cut each
fillet in half crosswise to make four portions altogether. Season the
scored skin with a little salt and pepper.
Put a large, non-stick skillet over high heat, splash in enough
oil to cover the bottom thinly, and heat until hot.
Lower the heat to medium-high, put in the fish skin side down,
and cook undisturbed for 4 minutes until the skin is crisp and golden.
Don’t shake the pan or move the fillets as this will cause moisture to
come out of the fish—then the skin will stick to the pan and tear. If the
pan gets too hot, draw it to the side of the heat and pour in a little cold
oil to cool it down, then return it to the heat.
Turn the fish over and cook undisturbed for 2 minutes on the second
side, basting with the hot oil so that it runs into the crevices in the skin.
To serve, place the sea bass skin side up on four plates and drizzle with
the pan juices. Dust with white pepper if you like.


Key to perfection
The skin of sea bass must be scored so the fish will stay flat during cooking. If the fish
isn’t flat, it won’t cook evenly, and you won’t be able to tell if it’s done or not.
With a very sharp, large knife and a sawing action, cut diagonal slashes
through the skin of each fillet. Make the score lines close together, and cut
right through the skin just into the fish. If you haven’t scored the skin properly,
or you’ve forgotten to score it at all, the fish will curl at the edges as soon
as it goes in the pan, and then it won’t cook evenly. Quickly press it hard with
a spatula to force it down flat. You’ll find it quite powerful and strong, so
you’ll need to use some force. At the end of the cooking time, turn
each piece of fish over onto its skin side again. Push down on the fish
with your fingertips and hold them there for 10–15 seconds. The fish is
ready when it feels firm, not spongy, and it should be removed from the
hot pan immediately.

The Basics of Knives
A good knife is worth the investment, but it need not be a big investment: There are now so many good knives sold in so many places that there’s really no excuse for buying junk. Go to a kitchen supply store and look at those with high carbon-steel alloy blades, which is what everyone— from chefs to experienced home cooks—uses now. The handle may be wood or plastic, although plastic handles are somewhat more durable and dishwasher-safe.
A chef ’s knife, essentially an all-purpose blade that you will use daily, should set you back no more than $30 and could be less. Make sure the handle feels good when you hold it; the grip is almost as important as the blade, and only you can judge whether it’s a comfortable fit.

The Three Knives You Must Have
1.  Chef ’s knife: An 8-inch blade is what most home cooks like; go to 10 inches if you have especially big
hands and like the feel or 6 inches if your hands are smaller. You’ll use this for almost all kitchen tasks.
2.  Paring knife: You can buy expensive paring knives or pretty good ones that are so cheap you can almost consider them disposable. It’s nice to have a couple of slightly varying styles. Use for peeling, trimming, and other precise tasks.
3.  Long serrated  knife or bread knife: A must for bread and other baked foods, for splitting cakes into layers, for ripe tomatoes, and for large fruits or veg- etables like melons and squash.

Sharpening Knives
Dull knives may slip off the food you’re cutting and onto the closest surface—your  finger, for instance. Although you must be extremely careful with sharp knives—casual contact will lead to a real cut—at least they go where you want them to. Respect your knives: Start with good ones, keep them sharp—you’ll know when it’s time to sharpen them—and they will become your friends.
An electric sharpener is the best, easiest, and most expensive way to keep knife blades sharp; even moder- ately serious cooks should consider this a worthwhile investment. The alternatives are to learn to use a whet- stone (not that difficult, and very effective, but time- consuming) or to take them to a hardware store to have them sharpened professionally.
A steel is a handy tool for maintaining the edge of knives between sharpenings. (You should use it every few days, at least.) It’s nothing more than a sturdy rod stuck in a handle, but it takes some practice to get the hang of it; follow the illustrations on the next page, repeating the motions a few times on each side of the blade.

Washing and Storing Knives
Though you can put plastic-handled knives in the dish- washer, it’s easy for them to get nicked there, so it’s better to wash by hand. It’s also a good idea to keep knives out of dish racks and other places where they might hurt someone.
Kitchen drawers are fine for knives if you buy inex- pensive plastic guards to prevent the blades from chip- ping and to protect their edges—and your hands. Wood blocks with slots that sit on the countertop and magnetic racks that hang on the wall or cabinet and suspend your knives from the blades are slightly better.

USING A STEEL

Using  a steel  is easy  and  effective  at  keeping knives sharp. The important thing is the angle, which should  be between 15 and  20 degrees. (STEP 1) Pull one  side of the  knife toward you across  the top of the steel,  simultaneously sliding it from base to tip (your pulling hand  will move in a diagonal motion); then (STEP 2)  repeat with the  other side  across  the  bottom of the steel,  always pulling toward you and trying to maintain a con- sistent angle.

My Fresh Chicken Stock

My Fresh Chicken Stock 


This is the one of the best stocks I make myself, mostly because it is dead easy to make and if you
roast a chicken for dinner , then you have the main ingredient for stock sitting there all
ready. You will also need two or three hours for it to cook and an extractor fan!
So take a big saucepan and put your chicken carcass in it. Now peel an onion and put
it in whole along with 6 or 7 peppercorns, a few bay leaves, and some fresh herbs –
parsley, thyme, whatever you have in the garden or on the windowsill. Add some more
vegetables, again left whole, a tomato or two, a leek or some celery. You can use whichever vegetables you have, I have been known to use left over mushroom stalks. The taste will vary but experiment and find out what you like.
Put in enough water to cover it all, bring to the boil, then turn the heat right down and
try to get it so the stock just slowly and gently bubbles. Now leave it for at least two hours to cook, adding a little water if it gets too low. You’ll know it is ready because the water will have become a softly savoury stock that you could just drink as it is, but it will not be as strong or as salty as a commercially made product.
Finally put a sieve over a bowl or jug and pour it all through to separate the clear stock off. Throw away all the bits, put the stock in the fridge and next day it will have set to a soft jelly and the fat will be set on top. You can scrape it off if you like.

Fresh Pasta

The Basics of Fresh Pasta


It’s likely that noodles were first cooked in China, Italy, or both; at the end of the day it doesn’t matter much. A paste (English for “pasta”) made of flour and liquid— whether water, oil, eggs, or a combination—was a simple enough step in the development of cuisine, and cutting the paste into strands . . . well, we all know how much fun making clay ropes is. It’s a bit of work—at least the first time you do it—but you will be stunned at what a lovely thing you’ve produced. Making pasta elicits a sense of accomplishment, as if you’ve created something ter- rific. And you have.

Two basic doughs—one flour and water, the other flour and egg—form the backbone of all fresh noodles: pasta, ravioli, gnocchi, dumplings, even spaetzle. The dif- ferences among these boil down to the shape or use of dough and the filling, if any. This first section focuses on Italian-style pastas but includes variations to make fresh Asian-style noodles too, with recipes that range from rich and eggy to eggless to bright and herby; they’re all pretty much classic in both noodle-making traditions.

Basic Pasta-Making Techniques


You  can make fresh pasta by kneading it  to  a firm, smooth dough, but it’s far easier to start the dough in a food  processor, then  finish  it  with  a  pasta-rolling machine.
For literally handmade pasta, pile your flour on a smooth, clean work surface (for Fresh Egg Pasta) or in a large bowl (for Eggless Pasta) and create a hollow in the
To make  the  pasta by hand, first make  a well in the  mound of flour and break  the eggs into it.
To knead the  dough, use  the  heel  of your hand  to push  into the  middle of the  dough, fold  the  dough over,  rotate it 90 degrees, and push  into it again.

Put your eggs or liquids into this well, then use a fork or wooden spoon to incorporate the flour. Once a dough begins to form, use your hands to fully incorporate the remaining flour. It’ll  be messy at first but should start to come together within a couple of minutes. It’s at this point, when the dough is still shaggy, that you want to add more liquid (water or olive oil) or flour in small amounts. You’ll know which to add by the look and feel of the dough; if it’s mushy and sticking to your hands, you need more flour; if it’s not  coming together and  separated into  dried-out-looking pieces, you need more liquid.
From  this  point  it’s  a  matter  of  kneading, and although it takes some energy, it’s much faster and easier than kneading bread dough. Form the dough into a ball,then sprinkle it and your work surface with flour. Use the heel of your hand to push into the middle of the dough, fold the dough over, rotate it 90 degrees, and push into it again. Continue kneading until the dough is completely smooth, somewhat skinlike, with some elasticity (if you pull off a piece, it should stretch a bit before breaking; if it breaks off immediately, keep kneading). If the dough is sticking to your hands or the work surface, sprinkle it with flour; it doesn’t need to be drowning in flour—just enough to keep it from sticking.
The food processor is not for purists, but I like it, and the end result is the same—or nearly the same—as hand- made. Put the flour and salt in the processor’s container and pulse it a couple times; add the egg and a bit of the liquid you’re using and turn the machine on. Gradually add the rest of the liquid(s) until the dough forms a ball.
With either method, you must let the dough rest for at least 30 minutes before rolling it out. Then knead the dough by hand (see above) or sprinkle it with a good amount of flour and use the pasta-rolling machine to knead it. To knead using a pasta roller, set the rollers at the thickest setting and work the dough through several times, folding it over after each roll. Slowly work your way down to about the middle roller setting and then let the dough rest.

How to eat crabs ...

STEP 1 Twist off the claws and break them open with a mallet

or nutcracker to pick and suck out the meat.

STEP 2 Break off

the apron, then pull off the top shell. Rub off the feather gills.

STEP 3 Break the body in two; then break it in two again. Go to

work, picking and sucking that meat out.

Boiled or Steamed Crab

or Lobster

MAKES: 1 or 2 servings

TIME: 10 minutes

Put a dozen blue crabs or a 3-pound lobster in front

of someone, and you’ll be amazed at how much one person

can eat. Crabs require nothing more than salt, lemon,or melted butter,and lobsters don’t

even need that but see the variation if youwant something jazzier.Somepeople like hot sauce or mayonnaise

(plain or flavored)on the side. Also see the sauce suggestions in the list that follows.

The water should be salted, which can be done in

three ways: You can cook in seawater, which is nice you

can add seaweed, which is charming (and works)  or you

can use salt, as most of us do.

To serve any number of people, multiply this recipe

accordingly. Handful salt 6 to 12 blue or rock crabs or 1 or 2 lobsters, about 3

pounds total Bring a large pot of water to a boil (or just an inch

or so if you’re steaming instead of boiling); salt it. Put

the crabs or lobster in the pot one by one (use tongs

when they don’t try to pinch you, they’re probably dead).

Count cooking time from when the water returns

to a boil: Cook crabs for about 5 minutes, or until red;

lobster for about 8 minutes for its first pound and then

an additional 3 or 4 minutes per pound thereafter.

(Thus a 3-pounder should boil for 15 to 20 minutes.)

 The foolproof way to check doneness (essential with

larger lobsters) is to insert an instant-read thermometer

into the tail meat by sliding it in between the underside

of the body and the tail joint; lobster is done at 140°F.

Drain in a colander for a few minutes and eat, cool and

eat later, or remove the meat from the shells to use for