Sea bass with homemade mashed potatoes & baby broccolini

I don’t prepare much fish here at home, but I do love a good thick steaky filet! I happened by a couple of nice looking ones behind the seafood counter at the store the other day so I snatched em up and decided to make homemade mashed potatoes and grab some baby broccolini to go with! I would do this thick of a fish steak in a cast iron skillet, for proper cooking thru and the perfect sear – you could also do it on the griddle/grill outside, but these instructions will be for cast iron skillet cooking.

Ingredients

• Couple filets of sea bass fresh from your seafood counter or preferred source. If you buy them frozen, I thaw frozen fish by running them (in their packaging) under cold water for a few minutes, or however package directions instruct. I always rinse my fish and pat dry with paper towels – be sure they’re completely dry, so you can get a good sear on them when sauteeing.
• A few (maybe 6-8 large) Yukon gold potatoes (that’s what I use for 2-3 of us, use more if preparing for more people).
• Splash of milk and/or buttermilk
• Drizzle of olive oil for broccolini
• Butter – few tbsps, plus some to saute the broccolini with
• Blob of sour cream – approximate, a couple spoonfuls works
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Broccolini – couple bunches or fresh broccoli, rinsed clean.
• One lemon halved and de-seeded (or you could just squeeze the lemon half over your closed hand, to catch the seeds), keep handy to squeeze over broccolini when done sauteeing.

Instructions & Serving Suggestions

• Prepare & cook your mashed potatoes:
  Cut up potatoes so they are a consistent size and boil in a pot of salted water for about 15 minutes til they’re fork tender and ready to whip with your hand mixer.
  
  When they are fork-tender, I drain them in a colander and put them back into the pot I boiled them in along with the following – few tbsp butter, a little more salt if needed, a splash of regular milk, splash of buttermilk, couple tbsp of sour cream. I pepper them and let them sit in the heat of the pan so all that has a chance to warm before whipping.
  You’ll whip the potatoes after sea bass is done and your broccolini is sauteeing.
  
• Prepare your broccolini:
  Rinse clean broccolini and dry completely with a paper towel.
  
  Prep your saute pan (use a lid) – add a drizzle of olive oil and couple tsp of butter to bottom of saute pan. You’ll be heating this to medium high, so it can steam for just a few minutes, after you finish up the sea bass.
  
  Get your lemon half ready to squeeze on it right when it gets done.
  
• Prep & saute your sea bass:
  If you haven’t made fish often in your skillet and unsure of your particular skillet & skills “perfect cooktime,” you can feel free to heat your oven up to 400 in case you need to finish off the filets/steaks in the oven for a few more minutes.
  
  Be sure your sea bass filets/steaks are patted completely dry with paper towels before using. I season mine with just regular salt and pepper, but you could use lemon pepper or whatever seasonings you prefer.
  
  Prepare your cast iron skillet for sauteeing/searing by heating on medium for a couple minutes, til its got some good heat thruout it…Bump it up just a bit so when you add your (several tbsp so it has a good amount/”pool” to sit in while searing and after you flip it over) butter, it will start slow-sizzling immediately, and I find it is at the right temp for adding my meat when you splash a tiny bit of water from your fingertips on it, and it sizzles in response.
  
  Add your filets to the hot cast iron skillet and don’t touch them for a few minutes, like maybe 4-5 min, until the butter around them starts turning golden brown and the steaks are golden brown on the bottom (the sear you want – they shouldn’t be too hard to “unstick” and move around if they have a perfect sear on them. Finding the particular heat setting on your stovetop and having your cast iron pan seasoned accurately might take a couple times to get just right so you’re getting the perfect golden sear on them).
  
  While the steaks are cooking, I cover my skillet after a couple minutes with a large “universal” sized lid so the fish cooks thru completely – it kind of “poaches it” with steam, which I like.
  
  Flip your steak (you may have to work under it gently with a metal spatula so you don’t mess up the sear) so it has a chance to sear on the other side. Let that saute for a few more minutes (maybe 3-4 more) covered with the lid again.
  
  I’m sure there’s a cooking temp that your steak should be for safe consumption, but I just look to make sure it is (a) completely opaque and not transparent anywhere and (b) flaky/chunky when you move it to your serving plate/cut into it.
  
  Cover your finished filets/steaks with foil to stay warm while you get your broccolini steaming and your mashed potatoes whipped. If filets still don’t look like they are quite cooked thru you can put them in a 400 degree oven for a few minutes to finish them off.
  
• Steam your broccolini on medium-high for a few minutes (4-5 minutes) til their color darkens and brightens. I like my steamed veggies still crisp-tender. Sprinkle a little fresh lemon juice over the top of them.
  
• Whip your potatoes with a hand mixer or smash with a smasher, whichever you prefer.

---