Seared Rockfish with Passion Fruit Sauce
Rum marinade and passion fruit sauce give a tropical taste to rockfish, a lean salt water fish. The fish is served in a tower that includes wilted greens and sweet potato hay -- fried sweet potato strips.
Ingredients
- Rum Marinade
- Juice of 2 lemons
- Star Anise - 1
- Cloves - 3, mashed
- Whole arbol peppers - 2
- Lemongrass stalks - 1, white part only
- Soy sauce - 1 cup
- Dark Rum - 1 cup
- Brown Sugar - 2 teaspoons
- Gingerroot - 2 slices
- Rockfish fillets - four, 6 to 8 ounce (alt snapper)
- Olive oil - 2 tablespoons
- Passion Fruit Sauce
- Passion Fruit - 2, peeled and cut into chunks
- Fish stock - 2 cups (see Basics)
- Pinch of kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Unsalted Butter - 3 tablespoons
- Sweet Potato Garnish
- Sweet Potato - 1 large
- Vegetable oil for deep-frying
- Wilted Greens
- Swiss Chard - 1 bunch, cleaned and separated
- Olive Oil - 1-1/2 tablespoons
- Shallot - 1, minced
- Clove Garlic - 1, minced
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- Cilantro Sprigs
Instructions
To make the marinade: Combine the ingredients in a saucepan and cook over medium heat until the sauce has reduced to the consistency of thin syrup. Strain through a sieve.
Fill the bottom of a baking dish with marinade. Place the fish in the marinade, turn to coat, and let stand 5 - 10 minutes.
To make the passion fruit sauce: Combine the passion fruit and fish stock together in a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium and cook until the fruit is softened, 3 to 5 minutes. Whisk in the salt and pepper. Strain through a fine-meshed sieve and put back into the pan over low heat, reserving about a third of the seeds. Add the butter, a tablespoon at a time, whisking gently to blend; if the butter begins to separate from the sauce, remove from heat immediately and whisk until it has cooled and blended back in. When all the butter has been added, stir in the reserved seeds. Set aside and keep warm.
To finish the fish: Remove the fish from the marinade and pat dry. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Heat the olive oil in a large ovenproof saute pan or skillet over medium-high heat and sear the fish for 45 seconds to 1 minute, until lightly browned. Turn and sear again on the other side. Place in the oven to finish cooking, about 5 minutes, until the flesh flakes easily and is done through.
To make the garnish: Cut the sweet potato into very thin strips on a mandoline, or with a spiral slicer. Rinse with water to remove starch and pat dry. Heat the oil to 350 F in a deep-fat fryer or saucepan. Slowly add the potato strips and fry 15 - 20 seconds, until the bubbling stops. Remove with a wire lifter or slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.
To wilt the greens: Cut away any large ribs and tear any large leaves in two. In a medium saute pan or skillet over medium heat, heat the olive oil and add the shallot and garlic. Cook 30 to 45 seconds, until slightly softened, then add the greens. Cook, turning the greens with tongs, until the greens wilt. Season with salt and pepper and remove from heat.
To serve: Mound wilted greens in the center of each serving plate. Drizzle passion fruit sauce around the greens. Place a piece of fish on top of the greens. Divide the potato hay among the plates and pile onto the fish. Place a few cilantro leaves in the hay to garnish.
