For the longest time I thought myself to be a 100% ocean and beach girl. When I moved to the mountains, I decided it was a toss up. Throw a lake in there somewhere and I’ve got all of my favorite bases covered.

At the end of the day, I finally determined, I’m a nature girl in any form or fashion. I love to be outside and for me, one thing brings all of these places together. I love…

…to FISH!

When I was a little girl growing up in South Carolina, my daddy and I would go fishing every Sunday without fail. We had a house on Lake Murray and it was one of my most favorite places in the world. During the winter months we would toss small cedar trees strung with popcorn into the lake to bait the fish. During the summer, they seemed to jump right out of the lake into our boat.

Next to fishing, the second best chore I was assigned was digging up worms from our worm farm. Yep, I was all tomboy, and that was just fine with daddy. I loved my cane pole and would watch that orange bobber for hours. There are only two things I seem to have patience with, and that’s cooking risotto and watching that little orange bobber.

My sweet boy and I still love to visit the lake and fish on a regular basis during the summer. Those little orange bobbers just didn’t seem to be his speed though so, he found a new way to catch fish.

…In his swim trunks. Life is stranger than fiction y’all. 😉

 

Chilean Sea Bass with Mango Salsa & Gingered Fennel

Ingredients

• 2-4 Filets Chilean Sea Bass – Wild Caught
• Good Olive Oil
• 1/2 cup mango, diced
• 1/2 cup pineapple, diced
• 1/2 cup tomatoes, seeded & diced
• 1/2 cup red onion, diced (for the salsa) + 1 cup red or white onion sliced thick vertically (for the Fennel)
• 1 bunch Cilantro, chopped
• 2 limes, juice and zest
• 1 jalapeno, seeded and diced
• 1 red or green bell pepper, diced
• 1 tsp. sugar or honey
• Sea Salt & Cracked Pepper to taste
• 2 bulbs fennel, tops removed and sliced vertically
• 1 tbs. fresh grated or minced ginger
• 1 cup white wine
• cooked rice – optional*

   

Directions

Barely coat a heavy skillet with olive oil. Sear fish on side one for about 5-6 minutes, then flip and cook 2 minutes longer. Finish in a 450 degree oven for 3-4 minutes. This fish is also fantastic grilled.

Note: Each oven cooks differently, so cook times may vary. A basic rule of thumb is 10 minutes of cook time for every inch of thickness in the oven or on the grill.

For the salsa:

Add the next nine ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Mix well and refrigerate. Add salt & pepper to taste.

For the Gingered Fennel:

Add ginger and about 1 tsp. olive oil to a skillet. Cook on medium heat about 1 minute. Add wine and bring to a boil. Add fennel and onion. Add salt & pepper to taste. Allow to cook until tender.

Serve the sea bass and gingered fennel over rice and top with salsa.

Life is too short to eat ugly food y’all.