Macadamia Nut Crusted Sea Bass

Mom and dad came down from Green Valley Arizona to visit earlier this month.  They always make it a point to dine at Fuzio several times when they visit.  I must have done something decent, they always say how proud they are. Ha!

Needed to get away from work for a while, so I decided to cook for them at home one evening.  They live in an amazing community but don’t have all the resources and access to the products we have available in our great city. 

So I decided to take them to our local seafood company downtown, Ohana Seafood.  This place is locally owned and they make trips from the Pier in San Francisco daily, ensuring we have the freshest product available.   They had some fabulous looking Chilean Sea Bass, and it was easy to decide that was going to be dinner.

Macadamia Nut Crusted Sea Bass 

6 ea                         7-8oz  Chilean Sea Bass Fillets (Skin Off)

¼ tsp                     Kosher Salt

¼ tsp                     Coarse Black Pepper

2ea                         Egg

2 Cup                    Panko Breads Crumbs

½ Cup                    Fresh Chopped Rosemary

2 Cup                    Chopped Macadamia Nuts

A/N                        GOOD Olive Oil

1.       Season each fillet with ¼ tsp of kosher salt and ¼ tsp of coarse black pepper.  Cover both sides.

2.       Whip the eggs in a small bowl creating an egg wash and using a pastry brush, brush each fillet on both sides with the egg.

3.       Blend the panko bread crumbs, rosemary, and macadamia nuts in a food processor until the nuts are properly grounded up.  The mixture will look wet, and slightly pasty when done.  Put the mixture in a shallow pan so you can bread the fish.

4.       Take each fillet and press it on both sides into the mixture.  The egg wash will make the mixture stick.  Bread the fillets evenly.

5.       Heat a large non-stick pan with good olive oil on medium heat. I always use Sciabica Olive Oil, the product is made locally and the quality is amazing.

6.       When the oil is hot sear the fillets on each side until the macadamia nut mixture is slightly browned.  Transfer the fillet to a baking sheet with foil.

7.       Cook all the fillets on the baking sheet, middle oven rack, at 350 degrees until the fish is done.  This fish will be firm and small white fats will be coming out of the fish when it is done. 

From here, use your imagination and pair the fish with some of your favorites.  In this case, I decided to plate it with brown basmati rice and a simple avocado and tomato salsa.  The dish was fresh, light, and I almost felt like I was losing weight eating it.

Cheers!

Chef Fuzio