Cooking Class: Herb Crusted Sea Bass with Garden Stew

Previously on Cooking Class, you can read my first experience here, the first recipe here and second recipe here.

This is the last post featuring the last recipe, Herb Crusted Sea Bass with Garden Stew (or ratatouille).

What is ratatouille? From http://www.suite101.com/content/ratatouille-recipe-a25085

Ratatouille (literally stirred chunky stew in French) is a great year-round dish. During the summer months, when fresh vegetables are abundant, it makes for a light, easy dinner. In the winter months, it can be transformed into classic comfort fare. Think of it as more "French concept" than "stew" - and let your imagination run wild. Ratatouille responds well to interpretation and experimentation.

Back to the class, sea bass fillets had been marinated with salt and pepper and kept in the chiller prior to this, to save time. We were told to mix the ingredients below for herb crust.

No utensils, no fancy machines, just with our bare hands! Not for the squirmiest type :p

Bread crumb, butter, lemon zest, fresh thyme, fresh oregano, garlic, black pepper and salt properly mixed. Set aside and continue with the garden stew.

 

Cut yellow zucchini, yellow onion, green capsicum, red capsicum, brinjal and tomato into small cubes. Here onwards, photos will be sparse as Hubby was feeling tired already :-)

Place a little oil in the sauce pan, once heated, add in cubed onions. Stir-fry until fragrant. Add in tomato paste and puree, stir well until redish. Add all the cut vegetables to saute and stir well. Add in some stock, let it simmer and cook until tender. Lastly, season with salt, sugar and black pepper to taste. Set aside while we worked on the sea bass and herb crust.

Place the fillets on a plate. Grab a handful of herb crust, padatkan and place it on top of the fillets.

Pre-heat the Samsung Microwave Convection Oven to 250’. Once heated, place the fillets in. Select Convection, dial 8 mins and press start. Easy peasy! If your fillet is thick, then bake for at least 15 mins. Not too long as worried the crust would be burnt off :p

While waiting, we can start garnishing it by placing the garden stew first on the plate. Then place the fries on top of the stew. Oops! Forgot the fries… it’s easy… baked the whole potato then placed it in the chiller. Once ready, cut it into strips, ensure it’s dry and then deep fry it in a pot of oil. Once fried, season with a little salt. Back to the plate, after the sea bass fillets are baked, place it on top of the fries.

The finished dish: Herb Crusted Sea Bass with Garden Stew… looks like fine dining, right???!!! :p

You can view the full recipe here. Yummy yummy! 

Thanks to Samsung, I’m glad to have been given such a wonderful opportunity to learn cooking in a professional way. It was a pleasure using the Samsung Convection Microwave Oven… totally user-friendly at it’s best!

Thanks Cilantro, with a fully equipped kitchen and a skilled Chef Joel, teaching and guiding us. I have totally enjoyed my cooking experience here :-)

Thanks to Hubby too for all the fantastic and beautiful photos!