1 - Basic preparation:
Fillet the sea bass, remove the skin and cut into 150 g portions,from the thickest part of the fish. Remove the green parts of the baby leeks and cook for 1 minute in boiling water. Plunge into cold water. Skin tomatoes by first making a cross incision in the bottom of the tomato. Plunge them into boiling hot water for a few seconds and then into cold water. Now cut peeled tomatoes into quarters.

Season the tomatoes with olive oil, thyme, finely sliced garlic, salt, pepper and sugar. Preserve the tomatoes by cooking, in a very gentle oven, for an hour and a half. Finely chop the white of the leek and plunge into boiling water for 10 seconds. Dry the “julienne” of leek thoroughly. Fry this “julienne” in the peanut oil, without allowing it to take on colour.


2 - Cream of Lemon Grass:
Gently fry the shallots in butter for 3 minutes, without allowing them to change colour. Add the finely sliced lemon grass stalks. Allow to sweat for another 15 minutes. Add the white wine and reduce by half. Add the liquid cream and cook very gently for 15 minutes and then allow to infuse for another 15 minutes. Filter the sauce. At the last moment, add the fresh butter and the lemon juice.


3 - Oil of Lemon Grass:
Finely chop all the ingredients. Put all ingredients in the oil into a hermetically sealed jar. Cook over a “Bain Marie” for two hours at 80°C. Keep to hand for later use.

To Serve: Gently pan fry the sea bass in the oil of lemon grass. Place the baby leek, a tomato quarter and the fried leek on top of the cooked fish. Serve some of the creamy, frothy sauce and the perfumed oil on top of and around the fish.


The wine matches perfectly the Sea Bass. Combining the acidity and the rich texture of the wine to the delicacy of the lightly creamy sauce and the tenderness of the Sea Bass, the pairing is just an explosion of flavors interacting with each other keeping the purity of each ingredient.

To Drink: Savennieres - Nicolas Joly - La Coulée de Serrant 1996 - Loire Valley