Sea Bass Provençale

Name: Sea Bass Provençale
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: 4 (6- to 8-ounce) sea bass fillets (substitute with any white, flaky fish); juice from 1 large lemon, about 3 tablespoons; 1 teaspoon kosher salt; ½ teaspoon coarse black pepper; ¼ cup seasoned breadcrumbs; 1 (14-ounce) can marinated artichoke hearts, drained; 1 (8.5-ounce) jar julienned sun-dried tomatoes in oil; 1 (7-ounce) jar kalamata olives, pitted; 1 (3.5-ounce) jar capers, drained; 1 cup white wine; 2 tablespoons olive oil; fresh parsley, chopped

Coastal Mains

Sea Bass Provençale

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The Strategy:

This recipe aggressively harnesses the intense, sun-drenched flavors of the Mediterranean by burying delicate sea bass fillets in a fiercely aromatic, rustic stew of artichoke hearts, sun-dried tomatoes, sharp kalamata olives, and briny capers. Baking the fish directly in this acidic, white-wine laced Provençal sauce ensures the fillets absorb massive amounts of flavor while remaining impossibly tender, while a dusting of breadcrumbs creates a subtle textural contrast. Serving this dish straight from the hot ceramic baking dish, spooning the deeply concentrated, chunky olive and tomato sauce over the flaky white fish, creates a spectacularly effortless, deeply savory coastal main.

Serves: 4 | Total Time: 30 minutes till it’s ready

Ingredients

For the fish and artichokes

4 (6- to 8-ounce) sea bass fillets (substitute with any white, flaky fish)
juice from 1 large lemon, about 3 tablespoons
1 teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon coarse black pepper
¼ cup seasoned breadcrumbs
1 (14-ounce) can marinated artichoke hearts, drained

For the Provençal sauce

1 (8.5-ounce) jar julienned sun-dried tomatoes in oil
1 (7-ounce) jar kalamata olives, pitted
1 (3.5-ounce) jar capers, drained
1 cup white wine
2 tablespoons olive oil
fresh parsley, chopped

Ingredients arranged: four thick raw sea bass fillets, bowls of marinated artichoke hearts, vibrant sun-dried tomatoes in oil, dark kalamata olives, capers, seasoned breadcrumbs, fresh lemons, white wine, and fresh parsley around a heavy white ceramic baking dish on a marble prep board.

Instructions

Make fish and sauce

Preheat your oven to 400°.
Add the fish to a shallow baking dish.
Drizzle with lemon juice and season with salt and pepper.
Sprinkle ¼ cup breadcrumbs onto the fish.
Cut the artichoke hearts into quarters and place into the baking dish.
Add the sun-dried tomatoes, including the oil from the jar.
Add the olives.
Sprinkle with capers.
Pour white wine around the fish and over the vegetables.
Drizzle the top of the fish with olive oil.

Bake and serve

Place the dish in the oven and immediately reduce the heat to 350°. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes depending on the thickness of the fish.
Serve the fish in chunky portions and spoon Provençal sauce over top. Garnish with fresh parsley.

Thing to Note:

Thing to Note:

A cook's hands pouring a heavy glug of crisp white wine into a rustic white ceramic baking dish, pooling around thick sea bass fillets, scattered sun-dried tomatoes, kalamata olives, and artichokes.

Things to Note

✦ Measurement Freedom: The measurements on the ingredients listed in this recipe are suggestions. If your can of artichokes or tomatoes isn’t the size listed, that’s perfectly fine.

✦ Quality Sourcing: If the best quality olives you can find come from the self-serve deli department, scoop away. This is a rustic dish, intended to be a combination of excellent flavors. Don’t worry about specific proportions.

✦ Fish Substitutions: If sea bass is not available, don’t be afraid to try halibut, snapper, or even barramundi for this dish!

The full recipe lives in the Vault

Ingredients, step-by-step method, and every chef-tested detail are reserved for members of the Estate Registry.

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The Heart of the Table

Serving a rustic, heavily textured fish bake directly from the oven establishes an atmosphere of unrestrained, abundant hospitality. It bypasses the formality of delicate plating, demanding instead that guests eagerly pass a massive, bubbling ceramic dish of deeply colored, fiercely aromatic Provençal fish around a crowded, energetic table.

An outdoor sun-drenched coastal lunch setting with 8 guests gathered around the table laughing loudly, eating, and drinking icy bone-dry Provençal Rosé in long-stemmed glasses on a Palm Beach Estate dining patio. A massive bubbling baking dish of Sea Bass Provençale anchors the lively coastal patio lunch party.

Neighborly Grace

THE PRESENTATION: Do not plate this dish individually. Bring the heavy, bubbling ceramic baking dish straight from the oven to the center of the patio table, allowing the intense aromas of white wine, sun-dried tomatoes, and roasted olives to hit the guests immediately.
THE POUR: The fierce brininess of the capers, olives, and intense sun-dried tomatoes requires a wine with bright acidity and serious structure. A fiercely chilled, bone-dry Provençal Rosé or a crisp, mineral-driven Vermentino flawlessly cuts through the rich olive oil and heavy aromatics.
THE VIBE: Loud, sun-drenched coastal lunches. This is the meal you execute on a bright Saturday afternoon, served with massive tears of crusty French bread to soak up the intense wine and olive oil broth, surrounded by the sound of crashing waves and loud conversation.

Chef’s Recommendations

What Goes Under the Fish: Polenta with Asiago Cheese
The Glass Alongside: The Gin Fizz
The Green on the Plate: Citrus Sautéed Green Beans
The Sweet at the End: Summer Peach Pie

The Estate Table

Build tonight’s menu around this dish.

✦ Set the Table

Sea Bass Provençale

Sea Bass Provençale

The full recipe lives in the Vault

The Heart of the Table

Neighborly Grace

✨ The Gilded Swaps