Roast Fillet of Sea Bass with a Ragot of British Clams and Mussels, Samphire and Dorset Black cow Vodka Cream Sauce 

by Chris Wheeler, Executive Chef, Stoke Park and Author of The Ginger Chef 'Served up'

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 4 sea bass fillets
• 400g Thai/regular asparagus
• 200g spinach
• 200g pomme purée (mashed potatoes)

For the mussels

• 100g clams
• 100g mussels
• 40g shallots (fi nely chopped)
• 10g chives (fi nely chopped)
• 20ml white wine
• For the sauce
• 200ml fish stock
• 200ml white wine
• 100ml double cream
• 20ml Black Cow vodka
• 1 small onion (diced)
• 1 small leek (diced)
• 1 celery stick (diced)

For the garnish

• Micro-cress

Method

1. Make the sauce by sweating the diced onion, leek and celery with a little olive oil and the white wine. Reduce by half. Add the fi sh stock and reduce again by half. Stir in the double cream, Black Cow vodka and season. Simmer for 5 minutes.
2. Season the sea bass and pan-fry for roughly 3 minutes on each side. Wash the spinach and sweat in a pan with a little butter. Blanch theasparagus for 30 seconds in boiling salted water and add to the sea bass.
3. Sweat the finely diced shallots in a saucepan, add the clams and mussels, cover with a lid for 1 minute. Add the white wine and cover again for 2 minutes or until all the clams and mussels are open. Add the chives.
4. To Serve - Place a portion of pomme purée in the middle of each plate, topping with spinach and asparagus. Serve the sea bass on top, skin side up. Dot the mussels and clams around the outside and spoon the sauce over the top and garnish with micro-cress.