Ingredients
Serves 2
1 piece scaled Corvina sea bass (cross-section, not filet), approx ¾-inch thick and 1.25 pounds (may substitute halibut, sablefish, black cod or butterfish)
¼ cup olive oil + 3 tablespoons
Approximately ¼ cup corn starch or flour
1 leek (yields approx 2 cups after slicing thinly), separate white part from green
8 medium Shiitake mushrooms, sliced
¼ cup + 1 tablespoon Merry Edwards Sauvignon Blanc
2 tablespoons fresh ginger, sliced into very thin matchsticks
Preparation
Wash the fish and pat dry with paper towel. Season the fish with salt and pepper to taste. Lightly coat the fish with corn starch (or flour), especially the skin.
Heat 1/4 cup olive oil in a nonstick frying pan over medium heat. Add ginger and toss. Remove when golden brown and crunchy. Place in a paper towel and blot off excess oil. Reserve as garnish.
Gently place fish into ginger-infused oil. Cook approximately 4 minutes each side or until tender, flaky and lightly browned on both sides. Using a spoon, tilt pan and continuously pour oil onto the fish skin so that it will crisp. Place the fish on a plate with a paper towel. Blot excess oil. Transfer to serving platter.
Reuse cooking pan to heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Stir-fry the mushrooms, adding a tablespoon of Sauvignon Blanc. Remove from pan when liquid is fully absorbed.
Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil. Stir-fry the leeks over medium heat by cooking the white part first for a minute, then adding the green part. Cook for another minute. Add 1/4 cup wine and reduce heat to low. Simmer for several minutes or until the leeks are tender but retain nice green color.
To compose, transfer the leeks to the serving plate with the fish. If your piece of fish is one with a cavity, put the leeks in that cavity and arrange like a mound. This is more suitable for a family-style dinner. If you have smaller pieces of fish, place the leeks on the side of a single fish for a single-serving plate. Top the mound of leeks with the mushrooms and add the ginger strings as the final garnish. Pour each diner a glass of Merry Edwards Sauvignon Blanc and enjoy!