Pan Seared Chilean Sea Bass with Caper Tomato Butter
Have sea bass to cook? Lucky you! Try this easy Pan Seared Chilean Sea Bass recipe made entirely in one pan. One of my favorite fish recipes!
Pan Seared Chilean Seabass is truly a special dish. I prefer pan searing to cook most of our fish! Sauteed sea bass is definitely one of the lowest maintenance ways to prepare this kind of fish, but I prefer this method for the nice, golden crust and flaky texture that it provides.
Your traditional Chilean sea bass recipe will pair it with a lemon butter sauce, a basil pesto or a chimichurri. I’m not knocking any of these sauces. I love them all! But, I wanted to do something just a bit different.
The tomatoes in this sauce recipe provide a nice acidic balance to the rich, flaky fish. I love the bite and saltiness of the capers, and the butter soothes the acidity of the tomatoes so it’s not *too* much. The butter also gives your sauce a nice, velvety texture. I just love how the sauce pairs with the mild flavor of the sea bass. It’s perfection!
Because of the price of sea bass fillets, we save it for special occasions like date nights. It really is an expensive fish! But it is so, so delicious.
Love this recipe? I think you’ll also love my black cod recipe.
About Chilean Sea Bass
Chilean Sea Bass is a super desirable type of fish that is known for it’s delicate flavor and buttery texture. It might surprise you to find out that sea bass is not a bass (confusing, right)? It’s a type of Patagonian toothfish typically found in cold, deep waters of the Indian Oceans.
Chilean Sea Bass is a large, lengthy fish that can weight up to 200 pounds. It’s a mild white fish that has a high fat content and firm texture. Sea bass tastes super rich and moist, and because of the high oil content, it’s pretty hard to mess up! It’s delicious grilled, baked, broiled, or pan seared like in this delicious recipe!
I would be remiss to not mention that this type of fish is subject to overfishing, which can eventually lead to extinction. So, while it may be pricier, it’s very (VERY) important to purchase sea bass that is Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certified for sustainable fishing practices. I purchase my sea bass through Sizzlefish to be certain that it’s been caught sustainably.
Don’t be afraid to ask the fish counter at your grocery store or fish market to see if their sea bass was sustainably caught!
Recipe Ingredient Substitutions and Addition Ideas
This is a versatile recipe that has a lot of potential for modifications! Here are a few ideas:
- Add 1-2 cloves of minced fresh garlic to the sauce when you add the capers, , or a tablespoon of fresh shallot!
- Add a splash of balsamic vinegar to the sauce for extra depth of flavor.
- Add a splash of fresh lemon juice or lemon zest to the sauce, or serve with lemon slices for extra color.
- If you don’t like capers, don’t add them! I understand that they are not everyone’s favorite.
- Can’t find Chilean sea bass fillets? Try cod, branzino or halibut in this recipe.
- Garnish with fresh parsley or rosemary.
Pan Seared Chilean Sea Bass Serving Suggestions
I love to serve this fish recipe with a bit of wild rice or polenta, and a fresh steamed green beans, chopped caprese salad, asparagus or brussels sprouts. It’s also a wonderful protein for salads.
For dessert, I think this beautiful fish deserves something a bit elevated like this passion fruit cake or blackberry custard pie!
Oh, and don’t forget a nice glass of wine! A dry white wine is the perfect pairing for the rich flavor of this fish.
Try out all of the easy fish recipes here on Blackberry Babe!
Storing Leftover Sea Bass
I highly doubt you have any of this amazing sea bass leftover! But if you do, store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 2-3 days.
I prefer to gently reheat this fish in the air fryer or in a sauté pan for 1-2 minutes on low-medium heat.
I hope you love this beautiful Chilean seabass recipe! If you make it, be sure to let you know how it went in the comments below.
Pan Seared Chilean Sea Bass with Tomato Caper Butter
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, or avocado oil
- 2 4- ounce Chilean sea bass filets
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 cup white cooking wine, or chicken broth
- 1 tablespoon capers, drained
- 1/2 cup canned, diced tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons butter, salted
Instructions
- In a cast iron skillet or non-stick large skillet, heat oil over over medium-high heat.
- Prepare seabass. Pat each filet dry with a paper towel, then seasoning with the garlic powder, salt and black pepper.
- To the hot pan, add prepared fish filets. Sear for about 4 minutes per side, until a golden brown crust has formed.
- Carefully flip each filet, and sear for an additional four minutes.
- Remove to a plate to rest.
- Reduce skillet heat to medium-low and allow the skillet temperature to come down a bit.
- Add white wine or chicken broth. Scrape the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon to remove any browned bits leftover from the fish.
- Add capers and tomatoes, allow to come to a simmer, 1-2 minutes.
- Add butter. Stir frequently until the butter melts.
- Return seared fish to the pan and spoon the sauce over the top.
- Serve warm. Optionally, garnish with fresh herbs.
Delicious and easy.
Thank you, Evelyn! Glad you enjoyed it!
Amazing recipe! The instructions and notes were very helpful and the result was a high end restaurant quality dish. I used a generous pint of previously frozen garden cherry tomatoes instead of the canned diced ones. The sauce was wonderful with the crispy sea bass, blistered green beans and crusty bread.
I’m jealous of your garden tomatoes, Roger! Sounds so good, thank you for taking the time to let me know how it turned out.
Delicious, easy to make brown and don’t overcook. Used dark rum all I had delicious.
Thank you Joyce! Glad you enjoyed it.