Sea bass with florence fennel and saffron

You probably agree with me that one of many positive things associated with Spain is the constant access to fresh fish and seafood and fresh vegetables and fruits. It's been almost 10 years since I moved here and during this time my everyday meals have become almost entirely dominated by sea creatures, vegetables and legumes, leaving behind meat, poultry and cold meat (excluding jamón serrano, because I just can't resist this delicious ham:)). When it comes to seafood the one I like the most is all kind of shellfish (mejillones, almejas, chirlas, lapas, navajas), in case of fish I mostly reach for sardines and sea bass. The last one is probably the most commonly eaten fish in our small family. Most frequently I simply bake it in salt, because this is the easiest and the fastest way; sometimes I just fry the fillets with a little bit of olive oil, garlic and parsley, and very rarely I serve it with some tasty sauce... like this one with florence fennel, saffron, young garlic, almonds and a hint of ginger, which I've seen in cooking show presented by the cook Julius Bienert.

Ingredients (serves 2):

2 large sea bass fillets or other white fish

1/2 small fennel bulb

1/2 bunch of green garlic (ajos tiernos) - can be replaced by 2-3 garlic cloves

1 young onion or a regular one

100 ml light cream (18%)

a handful of flaked almonds

1 cm piece of ginger

a pinch of saffron treats

salt and freshly ground pepper

olive oil

Method:

Toast the almond flakes on a dry frying pan. Remove from the pan and set aside. On the same frying pan, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add finely chopped onion, garlic and fennel. Fry for a few minutes, then add grated ginger and a pinch of saffron. Stir well and then pour in the cream. Cook over low heat for a few minutes, season with salt and freshly ground pepper.

On a separate frying pan, fry the fish fillets, sprinkled with salt and pepper.

Pour the sauce over the fish and sprinkle with toasted almond flakes.

Enjoy !!!