FISH DINNER FOR TWO

 After the houseful of visiting family and planning meals for a crowd, it’s been a quiet week cooking for two. I bought two lovely lubinas de ración, single-portion sea bass (each weighing about 1 ½ pounds) and had them opened up a la espalda—“on their backs”—or butterflied. I cooked them in no time on a gas grill and served them with an aliño of garlic, parsley, and olive oil.

Whole sea bass, one per person, are butterflied, grilled and served with a garlic-parsley sauce. 

A butterflied fish is quick to cook, whether on the grill or in the oven. At my local market, the fish vendor is accustomed to clean and cut-up the fish in any way you wish. I can shop at the vegetable stall while she does the messy work. 

If you’re doing it yourself, here’s how. Use a sharp boning knife or kitchen scissors and trim off the fins and the tail. If the fish is going to cook on the grill, don’t scale it. Scales protect the flesh from flare-ups and prevent the skin from sticking to the grill rack. (But if the fish is to be grilled on a plancha or roasted in the oven, scale the fish.  Place the fish on a sheet of newspaper. Scrape the scales off with a dull blade from the tail to the head. Roll up and discard the paper with the scales.) Use a heavy knife or cleaver to split open the head of the fish without severing the two halves. Place the fish on its side. With the sharp boning knife kept flat against the spine, cut the top fillet away from the bone, working from head to tail. Leave the fillet attached along the back. Open the fish “like a book.” Clean out the viscera but leave the spine in place until after the fish is cooked. 

Grilled Sea Bass

Lubina a la Parilla

2 whole sea bass  (each about 1 ½ pounds), butterflied 

Salt

Pepper

Lemon wedge

Garlic-Parsley Sauce to serve (recipe follows)

Smashed Potatoes to accompany (recipe below)

Hinged grill rack makes flipping fish easy.

Sprinkle the fish with salt and pepper and let it come to room temperature. Preheat gas grill or light charcoal. Wipe the grill rack with the lemon wedge. A hinged grill is useful for turning the fish. Lay the  fish open “on its back,” skin-side down, over the flame or coals. Grill about 5 minutes. Flip the fish (easy with a hinged grill) and grill the reverse side briefly. The fish is done when you can easily lift the spine from the flesh. 

Discard spine. Serve the fish, one per person. If grilling a larger fish, serving two, after discarding the spine, lift the fillets away from the skin and serve one fillet per person. Spoon the garlic-parsley sauce over the fish.

Simple sauce of fried garlic and parsley complements the fresh fish.

Garlic-Parsley Sauce for Fish

Aliño para Pescado

1/3 cup olive oil

4 cloves garlic, sliced

Red pepper flakes

3 tablespoons chopped parsley

2 tablespoons vinegar

Salt

Sauce for fish and potatoes.

Heat the oil in a small skillet and gently fry the sliced garlic until it begins to turn golden. Add the red pepper flakes. Remove the pan from the heat and add the parsley, vinegar and a pinch of salt. Stir the sauce before spooning it over grilled fish or vegetables. 

Smashed Potatoes

Patatas Aplastadas

In Spain, these small potatoes are marketed as patatas de guarnación, or “potatoes for garnishing.” 

Small potatoes

Olive oil

Coarse salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Garlic-Parsley Sauce (aliño)

Cook the unpeeled potatoes in salted boiling water until they are tender, about 10 minutes. Drain well. Place them on a work surface and with the palm of the hand or the bottom of a tea cup, press them gently to split the skins and flatten them slightly. (They can be cooked and smashed in advance.)

Heat the oil in a heavy skillet and brown the potatoes on one side. Place them on a plate, browned side up, and sprinkle them with salt and pepper. Spoon some of the garlic-parsley sauce on them to serve.

More ways to grill fish:

Plancha-Grilled Fish with Caper Sauce.

Grilled Trout Wrapped in Grape Leaves.

Grilled Corvina with Escalivada.

Grilled Albacore Tuna with Ponzu Sauce.

Plancha-Grilled Squid with Red Chile Sauce (Mojo Picón)

Grilled Sardines with Cornbread.

Grilled Swordfish Brochettes.

CAN´T PASS UP THE FISH VENDOR

 

A find at the fish market--razor shell clams. In Spanish, they are navajas, or "pen knives."

I already had a fat chicken in my market basket, but could not pass by the fish stall without stopping to check out the day’s selection. It’s been more than a year—coinciding with, but not due to, the pandemic—that the village market has been without a fish vendor. I am thrilled to once again have fresh fish and shellfish available locally, so I invariably buy something.

On this day I found razor clams, a shellfish I’ve enjoyed at restaurants specializing in mariscos, shellfish, but never cooked myself. Prepared simply grilled on a plancha and topped with garlic-parsley aliño, they were a quick appetizer while the chicken roasted. The leftover clams and sauce made an instant pasta sauce the following day.

Razor clam shells don't close tightly, so they usually hold sand and grit. Soak them before cooking.

The clams need only one or two minutes to cook on a plancha. Any longer and the delicate flesh becomes tough. In Spain, clams such as these are often served para picar, as a shared plate before a meal.

Quick sauce--garlic, parsley and olive oil in a mini-processor.

Go ahead, pick it up with your fingers and slurp the clam right off the shell. 

My grandson said the clams were like "eating worms." He seemed to enjoy them.

Leftover clams? Cut them up and add them with their sauce to cooked pasta.

Plancha-Grilled Razor Shell Clams with Garlic-Parsley Sauce

Navajas a la Plancha con Aliño

Razor shell clams do not close up tightly. If they’re alive, protruding bits should retract when prodded. Discard any clams whose shells are open and especially heavy ones, as they may be filled with grit.

Two notes of advice: one, be sure to allow the clams to soak in salt water to cleanse them of sand and silt, and, two, do not cook them longer than one or two minutes or they become tough and chewy. 

Use a plancha—a griddle or flat grill pan—or cast-iron skillet to cook the clams.

2 dozen razor clams

Salt

½ cup coarsely chopped parsley

2 cloves garlic

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil + more for the griddle

1 teaspoon coarse salt

½ teaspoon grated lemon zest

Red pepper flakes (optional)

Wash the clams in running water. Place them in a bowl and add water to cover. Add ½ teaspoon table salt. Let the clams set at least 2 hours. Lift them out of the water and rinse again. Discard any that are open. Drain and pat them dry.

Sauce in mini-processor.

Use a mini-processor to grind the parsley and garlic. Add the oil, ½ teaspoon coarse salt, zest and red pepper flakes, if using. Process to make a smooth sauce.

Heat a plancha or cast-iron skillet and brush it with oil. Sprinkle with ½ teaspoon coarse salt and place the razor clams on the griddle in a single layer. Grill 1 minute or until the shells open. Remove the clams from the heat. Place them on a serving platter and spoon some of the parsley-garlic sauce over them. Serve accompanied by bread and remaining sauce.

Leftovers:

Remove clams from their shells. Discard the shells. Use kitchen scissors to cut the clams into pieces. Combine with leftover garlic-parsley sauce in a bowl. Cook linguine or other pasta to taste. Ladle some of the boiling pasta water over the clams and sauce. Drain the pasta and serve tossed with the clams and sauce.

More recipes with clams:

Fishermen-Style Clams (Marinera).

Rice with Clams.

Clams with Butter Beans and Saffron.