Black Garlic Calico Bass Collars
Recipe created by Andrew Miller for ZenMar Offshore Charters
Some of the Fin + Forage team made it down for an overnight dive trip at San Clemente Island and with the help of ZenMar Offshore, we came home with some delicious (and hefty!) Calico Bass, Yellowtail and CA Sheephead. To share our appreciation of how much effort Captain Doug put in to ensure this was an amazing trip, Andrew decided to tribute this dish to him and his team.
If you’ve never heard of black garlic, you absolutely MUST look into it. It tastes very little like regular garlic and has an intense, almost balsamic flavor. It takes over a week in the oven on very low temperature to make! Check your local Whole Foods or order it on line and tell us what you think about black garlic!
Ingredients:
2 pounds of collars or fillets
4-6 cloves black garlic
1 tbsp grated ginger
Zest of two lemons
Juice of one lemon (extra to taste)
4 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp olive oil
3 tbsp turbinado or brown sugar
Method
Preheat your broiler to 450 degrees fahrenheit. Peel garlic cloves and mash into a paste with a fork. Add black garlic paste, ginger, lemon zest, lemon juice, soy sauce, olive oil, and sugar to a small pan on low to medium-low heat. Stir constantly until the sauce bubbles and thickens, about 5 minutes.
Place your fish on a foil-lined baking sheet and generously spoon the sauce over the fish, reserving approximately two tablespoons for dipping.* Place the baking sheet in the broiler, approximately 5 inches under the heat source. Cook for 5 to 10 minutes, until fish flakes easily with a fork. Remove fish from the broiler, heat, and serve immediately!
*This recipe works best with smaller fillets and collars. If you're using thick (>2") fillets or larger collars, you may want to broil the fish for a few minutes before spooning the sauce on. The trick is to finish cooking the fish at the same time the sugars in the sauce caramelize. If the fish stays under the heat for too long, the sauce will burn.
This dish pairs amazingly well with garlic truffle fries!
Bon Appétit!