At Brushstroke with chef/owner David Bouley, chef Yamada created this dish for Americans, who he realized don’t like the salted, grilled fish beloved in Japan for its strong flavor and chewy texture. To create a very moist fish, Yamada created this recipe for sea bass, where the fish is marinated for 24 hours with sun-dried tomatoes and grapeseed oil. At a cooking class, says author Nancy Matsumoto, Yamada garnished the dish with poached, skinned cherry tomatoes and pink peppercorns. “It was delicious,” she says. Read our full profile of Bouley’s latest restaurant here.
Tomato Marinated Sea Bass
Serves 2 to 4
From chef Isao Yamada, of Brushstroke (30 Hudson St. at Duane St., 212.791.3771)
Sea salt
Sake, for cooking
1 pound sea bass
1 liter grapeseed oil
½ pound sun-dried tomatoes
Lightly salt the whole sea bass, set aside for 1 hour. Wash off salt with cooking sake.
Cut sea bass into single serving fillets. Mix the grapeseed oil and sun-dried tomatoes together in a blender. Marinate the sea bass fillets in the sun-dried tomato oil for 24 hours. Preheat oven to 450°. Remove sea bass from marinade and place in a shallow glass or ceramic baking dish. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes to desired doneness.
