Pan Roasted Black Bass with Clams & Asparagus

Ayesha Nurdjaja

Servings 4 people

Run cold water over the clams. Make sure all clams are closed tightly and scrub shells clean.
Place saffron threads in a small bowl. Pour two tablespoons of water over and steep for 10 minutes.
Remove the peel from the orange with a sharp vegetable peeler or knife. Use a sharp knife to trim away the white pith from the peel. Cut the orange in half and reserve.
Slice the Fresno chili into thin rings.
Place a heavy-bottomed pan over medium heat. Add the olive oil, garlic, bay leaf, chili and orange peel. Cook until the garlic is golden brown and fragrant.
Add the clean clams, the juice from half of the orange, the saffron and the wine.
Turn the heat under the pot to high and cover with a tight lid. Cook for 4 -5 minutes until the clams have opened.
When the clams have opened, remove the bay leaf and orange zest. Remove the opened clams to a bowl and discard any that have not opened.
To the juices in the pot, add the butter, the juice from half of the lemon and the chopped parsley. Cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes. Add the blanched asparagus.

Prepare a large bowl with the ice water. Place close to your range.
Fill a large pot with water. Bring to a boil. Add salt as you would if cooking pasta. Return to a boil. Add the baby asparagus and cook in the boiling water for two minutes or until the asparagus is bright green.
Immediately remove the asparagus with a slotted spoon or tongs and place in the ice water to stop the cooking.
Remove the asparagus from the ice water and drain on paper towels.
Cut the asparagus into 1-inch pieces on the bias

Dry filets on a paper towel.
Turn skin side up on a cutting board. Using a sharp knife, score the skin by making three shallow ¼-inch cuts along the length of each filet.
Heat a nonstick pan over medium-high heat.
Salt the filets on each side. When the pan is hot, place the filets, skin-side down in the pan. Each filet should have about a ½ in space on all sides. Be careful not to crowd the pan. Cook until the skin is well-browned, about 3 minutes. Flip the filets and cook for another minute to 90 seconds, or until cooked through.

Cut the tips off the top and bottom of the lemon. Cut the rounded sides – or “cheeks” – from each lemon. Set aside.
Add the cooked clams back to the reduced clam broth. Warm briefly until the broth is just hot.
Put some of the warm clam broth, the clams and asparagus into a shallow bowl. Place fish on top. Garnish with the lemon cheeks and the parsley leaves or pea tendrils.

Wine Category Chardonnay