Sea Bass alla Fiorentina

Summertime, and the eatin' is free!!  This meal was made of locally grown zucchini from our CSA and locally caught sea bass from my parents!  Can't get much cheaper than that!

My parents are avid anglers, so in the summertime, we get pretty much all the fresh fish we could want.  My husband, on the other hand, doesn't really enjoy fish that much, so when I came home with a bundle of sea bass, I turned to the internet to find a recipe that would be tasty to all of us.

I found this one on the Food Network website and was really pleased to find a reviewer who noted that her family doesn't really like fish, but they loved this.  Even better, I had everything to make this.

We LOVED this.  My husband enjoyed it, but noted that he probably would have preferred it in a lemon-white wine sauce, which was my original intent.  I really liked it, and thought the sauce was amazing over the zucchini.  My four year old DEVOURED his fish, and told my parents how great it was and how much he likes to eat fish!!!

Sea Bass alla Fiorentina Souce:  Giada de Laurentiis via Food Network Website

Ingredients

• c4 (6-ounce) pieces sea bass
• 1/4 teaspoon salt, plus more for seasoning fish
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more for seasoning fish
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus 3 tablespoons
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 (14-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley leaves
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil leaves

Directions

Season both sides of the fish with salt and pepper. Put the flour in a shallow bowl, dredge the fish, tapping off the excess flour to create a light coating.

In a medium nonstick fry pan, heat the 3 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat. Cook the fish until golden brown, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer fish to a plate.

Wipe out the pan with a paper towel and heat the remaining 3 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic, tomatoes, water, parsley, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and cook at a simmer for 10 minutes. Add the basil and the fish and heat for 2 minutes. Serve immediately.