Sea bass with mussel ragout

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 1 kg clams
• salt and pepper
• 100 g onion(s)
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 small piece(s) of ginger
• 1 chili pepper(s), red
• 2 stalks of parsley, flat
• 8 tbsp olive oil
• 150 ml white wine, dry Italian
• 350 g potatoes, waxy
• 1 bell pepper(s), yellow
• 80 g celery
• 3 sprigs of dill
• 30 g olives (Taggiasca olives, alternatively black olives), pitted
• 1 tbsp lime juice or lemon juice or some lime zest or lemon zest
• 4 sea bass fillets (130 g each), ready to cook, with skin

Instructions

Working time approx. 30 minutes; Rest time approx. 1 hour; Cooking/baking time approx. 40 minutes; Total time approx. 2 hours 10 minutes

Branzino with cozze sauce

Place the mussels in cold water seasoned with 1 teaspoon of salt for one hour to remove the sand, changing the water several times. Peel the onion and garlic cloves and finely dice both. Peel the ginger and finely dice. Rinse and trim the chili pepper and cut into fine rings. Rinse the parsley, shake dry and roughly chop. Pour the mussels into a sieve, rinse and drain. Discard any open or damaged mussels. Heat 4 tablespoons of olive oil in a wide saucepan and sauté the onions, garlic, ginger, chili and parsley for about 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in the mussels, top up with white wine and boiling water, cover and simmer for about 3 to 4 minutes, shaking the pan occasionally. Then pour the mussels into a sieve, collecting the liquid and allowing the mussels to drain. Discard any closed mussels. Measure out 500 ml of mussel stock and set aside. Remove 2/3 of the mussels and set aside the mussel meat. Peel and wash the potatoes and cut them into 1 cm cubes. Bring the mussel stock to a boil in a saucepan. Add 150 g of the diced potatoes and cook over low to medium heat for about 8 minutes until soft. Halve the bell pepper, trim and rinse them, and cut them into 2 cm cubes. Finely puree the potato cubes in the mussel stock using a food processor and season with a little pepper. Then add the remaining potato cubes and the bell pepper and cook over low heat for about 12 minutes, stirring frequently. Rinse and trim the celery, and add it, cut into 1 cm cubes. Simmer for another 6 to 8 minutes. Finely chop the olives. Stir in the lime or lemon juice or lime or lemon zest, the mussels, mussel meat, and the olives, then cover and keep warm on the turned off stovetop. Shake the pot occasionally. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a non-stick pan and fry the sea bass fillets, skin-side down, over medium-high heat for about 2 minutes. Season with a little sea salt, turn, set aside, and let stand for about 1 minute. Finely chop the dill fronds from 2 sprigs of dill. Fold the dill into the mussel ragout and arrange the ragout with the sea bass on a deep platter. Drizzle with the remaining olive oil, garnish with the remaining dill, and sprinkle with pepper to serve. Serve with fresh ciabatta.