PERSIAN STYLE SEABASS AND COUSCOUS – you will think Aladdin came to your kitchen

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“Food can bring people together in a way nothing else can.” Yotam Ottolenghi

Hi there,

The other day Dom and I went shopping at Costco and mistakenly bought two pieces of sea bass. I have come to cooking fish very late in life. And to be honest, I usually need the fish disguised in lots of flavors. I found the idea for preparing this meal on line from an article that was published in the 1990’s. I tweaked it to make it easier and to use ingredients that I had on hand. We liked this dish so much that it is on the menu for friends we are having over Saturday night.

Ingredients:

  • 2 nice sized sea bass filets
  • 1/4 pound of shrimp
  • 1 and 1/2 cups of chicken broth
  • box of pearled couscous. I used the Near East mix pictured below
  • 1 and 1/2 tablespoons of olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons of butter
  • 6 blood oranges
  • 1 15 ounce can of chickpeas, rinsed and drained
  • 12 large green olives, Cerignola preferred
  • 6 large dates

Directions for the couscous:

Bring the broth to a boil. Add the couscous and the seasoning packet and the chickpeas to the broth. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce the heat and simmer until all the liquid is absorbed.

Using a microplane grater, remove the zest of three blood oranges and set aside. Peel the remaining skin from the 3 oranges and cut segments into 1/4 inch pieces.

Quarter the olives and dates then add the quartered oranges, olives and dates to the couscous.

Directions for the sea bass:

Dry the sea bass filets thoroughly and season with salt and pepper.

Juice the remaining 3 blood oranges.

Preheat the oven to 250 degrees.

Over medium heat warm a sauté pan with the olive oil and butter.

Add the sea bass to the pan and sauté for 5 minutes then and add the shrimp to the pan. Turn over the filet and sauté the sea bass and shrimp an additional 2 minutes.

Cook in the oven for 10 minutes.

Remove the fish from the pan and keep warm. Place the sauté pan back on the stove and add the orange juice and the orange zest to the to the pan drippings. Bring to a boil and reduce by half.

Pour the orange juice reduction over the sea bass and serve.

Special notes: clementines can be substituted for blood oranges and any type of thick white fish would work well with this recipe. A sprinkle of fresh mint over the top would look nice. (I didn’t have any that day.)

See you soon, ❤️💕Bernadette

11 responses to “PERSIAN STYLE SEABASS AND COUSCOUS – you will think Aladdin came to your kitchen”

  1. the Painted Apron – Life is all about creativity for me, as long as I'm creating something I am happy! I hope I will inspire your daily life and give you ideas for your own wonderful creations!
    the Painted Apron says:

    I’m not much of a fish eater, but this dish is creative and definitely worthy of company!
    Jenna

  2. Dorothy's New Vintage Kitchen – I'm a writer, cook, gardener, photographer, poet, quilter, and accomplished daydreamer. I'm also a wife, mother, grandmother, sister. cousin, aunt, and friend, no particular order on any given day. I've been a writer all my life, newspaper reporter and columnist, radio news writer, and magazine contributor, and poet and short-story writer as the spirit moves. Now, I turn my attention to my cookbook, the blog, and a cooking column "Memorable Meals," which runs in our county newspaper. Besides my family, I love dogs, cats, good coffee, chocolate, and my never-dwindling pile of books I intend to read. Our family ran a small Vermont Inn for 18 years, with our focus on local, organic ingredients. I cook from scratch, and try not to use anything that has ingredients I cannot pronounce! After many years of daily serving up local delicacies, cooking classes, and catering, we are now only open for special events, and the odd cooking class. We also host musicians and artists, having helped produce a musical festival and other musical events for nearly 20 years. Many incredible artists have found a place at our table. Wonderful experiences, we will treasure always. My family and friends are my practice subjects. With a family that includes nut, peanut, tree fruit, and vegetable allergies, gluten intolerance, dairy intolerance, vegetarians, vegans, heart conscious, and a couple of picky eaters, there has to be a few quick tricks in the book to keep everyone fed and happy! Personally, I do not eat red meat or most full-fat dairy (usually) for health reasons, making the occasional exception at Thanksgiving and Christmas or our anniversary if the duck is locally raised. I do eat fish and seafood, so I try to come up with alternatives and substitutions when available. I serve local organic eggs and cheeses to my family who can tolerate dairy (My husband recently had a heart attack, and I need to watch my own cholesterol so I am careful, but have been known to let a little piece of really good cheese accidentally fall on my plate!). I believe strongly that eating in a way that is good for our planet is also good for our bodies, and I try to educated myself about our food sources! I cook by the seasons and draw on inspiration from the strong and talented women in my family who came before me, as well as the youth in the family who look at the world with fresh eyes. Food links us all, whether sharing a meal, cooking it together, or writing about it for others to enjoy. I love taking an old recipe and giving it a modern spin, especially if I can make it a littler healthier and use foods that are kinder to the Earth and to our bodies. I believe strongly in sustainable, delicious eating of whole foods, and the wonderful flavors we have at our fingertips! And finally, I love conversing with all the talented cooks and chefs out there who dot the globe! It's a wonderful, world full of culinary pen pals, and I cherish them all! XXXOOO Dorothy
    Dorothy’s New Vintage Kitchen says:

    Yum Bernadette! This looks so delicious, and I love the bold flavors you used here. Can I come over on Saturday too?

      • Dorothy's New Vintage Kitchen – I'm a writer, cook, gardener, photographer, poet, quilter, and accomplished daydreamer. I'm also a wife, mother, grandmother, sister. cousin, aunt, and friend, no particular order on any given day. I've been a writer all my life, newspaper reporter and columnist, radio news writer, and magazine contributor, and poet and short-story writer as the spirit moves. Now, I turn my attention to my cookbook, the blog, and a cooking column "Memorable Meals," which runs in our county newspaper. Besides my family, I love dogs, cats, good coffee, chocolate, and my never-dwindling pile of books I intend to read. Our family ran a small Vermont Inn for 18 years, with our focus on local, organic ingredients. I cook from scratch, and try not to use anything that has ingredients I cannot pronounce! After many years of daily serving up local delicacies, cooking classes, and catering, we are now only open for special events, and the odd cooking class. We also host musicians and artists, having helped produce a musical festival and other musical events for nearly 20 years. Many incredible artists have found a place at our table. Wonderful experiences, we will treasure always. My family and friends are my practice subjects. With a family that includes nut, peanut, tree fruit, and vegetable allergies, gluten intolerance, dairy intolerance, vegetarians, vegans, heart conscious, and a couple of picky eaters, there has to be a few quick tricks in the book to keep everyone fed and happy! Personally, I do not eat red meat or most full-fat dairy (usually) for health reasons, making the occasional exception at Thanksgiving and Christmas or our anniversary if the duck is locally raised. I do eat fish and seafood, so I try to come up with alternatives and substitutions when available. I serve local organic eggs and cheeses to my family who can tolerate dairy (My husband recently had a heart attack, and I need to watch my own cholesterol so I am careful, but have been known to let a little piece of really good cheese accidentally fall on my plate!). I believe strongly that eating in a way that is good for our planet is also good for our bodies, and I try to educated myself about our food sources! I cook by the seasons and draw on inspiration from the strong and talented women in my family who came before me, as well as the youth in the family who look at the world with fresh eyes. Food links us all, whether sharing a meal, cooking it together, or writing about it for others to enjoy. I love taking an old recipe and giving it a modern spin, especially if I can make it a littler healthier and use foods that are kinder to the Earth and to our bodies. I believe strongly in sustainable, delicious eating of whole foods, and the wonderful flavors we have at our fingertips! And finally, I love conversing with all the talented cooks and chefs out there who dot the globe! It's a wonderful, world full of culinary pen pals, and I cherish them all! XXXOOO Dorothy
        Dorothy’s New Vintage Kitchen says:

        I’ll take it!

  3. Chef Mimi – As a self-taught home cook, with many years in the culinary profession, I am passionate about all things food-related. Especially eating!
    chef mimi says:

    Huh. How in the world did you mistakenly come home with fish? Was it supposed to be someone else’s?! Anyway, I love what you did here. Olives really brighten up dishes, I think.

    • No, Dom though he was buying halibut which I have made before. I was shocked when I saw I had sea bass which I have never prepared before. Turns out this may become a favorite.

      • Chef Mimi – As a self-taught home cook, with many years in the culinary profession, I am passionate about all things food-related. Especially eating!
        chef mimi says:

        Ohhhhhhh. So you were buying fish! Okay…

  4. Nourish – Nourish is all about wholesome food preparation for those with disordered eating. Our mission is to provide delicious recipes anyone can make at home, along with education and support for individuals recovering from eating disorders and their caregivers.
    Nourish says:

    Hey Bernadette! Just reaching out to let you know that you’ve been nominated for the Golden Bloggerz Award: https://thenourishcookbook.com/2021/04/07/golden-bloggerz-award/ Congratulations 👏👏

  5. CarolCooks2 – Udon Thani – Enjoying life in The Land Of Smiles I am having so much fun researching, finding new, authentic recipes both Thai and International to share with you. New recipes gleaned from those who I have met on my travels or are just passing through and stopped for a while. I hope you enjoy them. I love shopping at the local markets, finding fresh, natural ingredients, new strange fruits and vegetable ones I have never seen or cooked with. I am generally the only European person and attract much attention and I love to try what I am offered and when I smile and say Aroy or Saab as it is here in the north I am met with much smiling. Some of my recipes may not be in line with traditional ingredients and methods of cooking but are recipes I know and have become to love and maybe if you dare to try you will too. You will always get more than just a recipe from me as I love to research and find out what other properties the ingredients I use contain to improve our health and wellbeing. This is now taking me into other areas like deforestation, chemicals and preservatives in the food chain. Exciting for me hence the title of my blog, Retired No One Told Me! I am having a wonderful ride and don’t want to get off, so if you wish to follow me on my adventures, then welcome! I hope you enjoy the ride also and if it encourages you to take a step into the unknown or untried, you know you want to…….Then, I will be happy!
    CarolCooks2 says:

    Bern this sounds absolutely delicious I have not eaten couscous for years my one and only experience was a rather bland mess made by a friend who loved the stuff…This sounds absolutely delicious and have bookmarked this to try…Lovely recipe :)x

    • Thank you. The recipe would lend itself to all different additions and with the amazingly different fruit and vegetables you have access to, I am sure you could have a lot of fun with it.

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