Tapenade

Castelvetrano Olive Tapenade Crusted Sea Bass
Yellow, Red and Orange Cherry Tomato Escabeche

Presented by Chef Luca Paris
Host ~ “A Culinary Journey with Luca Paris” & “What’s Cooking with Luca Paris
Co Owner & Executive Chef ~ Luca’s Mediterranean Café and The Market at Luca’s

Whenever I think of Mediterranean cuisine, olives stand out as one of the boldest and most exciting flavors. Using great olives is equivalent to drinking great wine. Once you have experience the best each has to offer, it is unlocks flavors you never even knew existed. That is how I feel about Castelvetrano olives. They give a depth of flavor to my tapenade as well as beautiful color. I like to balance the rich salty tapenade with a tart sherry vinegar colorful tomato escabeche.

TAPENADE:
Castelvetrano olives                                          2 cups
pitted capers                                                     2 tsp                 rinsed
anchovies                                                         2                      chopped
lemon                                                               1                      use the zest only
garlic                                                                1 tsp                 diced
sun dried tomatoes                                            1/3 cup            diced
extra virgin olive oil                                           4 tbls

Chilean Sea Bass                                              4                      6 oz portions
grape tomatoes (assorted colors)                      1 pint                cut in half
kosher salt
black pepper
Don Bruno sherry vinegar
extra-virgin olive oil                                           4 tblspn

In a standard blender, add the Castelvetrano olives, capers, anchovies and extra virgin olive oil. Blend until the mixture is a smooth puree. Place mixture in a bowl and add zest of one lemon and chopped sun dried tomatoes folding it together. The tapenade should resemble a light paste, not to soupy; it will solidify better if refrigerated overnight. This tapenade can be held for a few weeks in the refrigerator if you top it with some olive oil and cover tightly. This recipe allows for some extra tapenade, great on crostini and a spread on panini.
Heat a sauté pan on medium high heat, add 1 tablespoon of olive oil let warm. Add the sea bass that have been seasoned with black pepper. Sear each side of the fish for 3 to five minutes then remove and place in a oven proof pan. Top each piece with a few spoons full of the tapenade. Place the fish in a preheated 250 degree oven to keep warm until you have prepared the escabeche.
Escabeche is a simple preparation of a pickled vegetable. In the same pan you cooked the fish add the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil and warm on medium high heat. Add the pint of halved tomatoes (you can replace with diced plum tomatoes also). Add a touch of salt and the vinegar to the pan and turn off heat. Let the vinegar evaporate and infuse the tomatoes as it reduces.
When platting, Moroccan cous cous makes a great accompaniment. Spoon the cous cous on the plate and lay the tomatoes around the cous cous and drizzle the sauce on the plate, Place the fish over the cous cous and Viola!!! Enjoy the experience!