Sea Bass with Shrimp in Basil, Tomato and Saffron Sauce

Last night I made Chilean sea bass fillets with shrimp in a basil, tomato and saffron sauce. It's been a long time since I last cooked sea bass and it turned out wonderfully: a truly elegant dinner. The preparation is fairly simple: Sea bass fillets are cooked in white wine together with basil, cherry tomatoes, garlic, onion and saffron.

Ingredients

• 4 Chilean sea bass fillets, about 7 oz / 200 g each
• 1 lb / 450 g raw shrimp, peeled, head and tail off
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
• 2 tbsp / 30 g butter
• 5 oz / 150 g cherry tomatoes, cut in half
• a handful of fresh basil leaves, cut into fine shreds (chiffonade)
• ½ tsp salt (or to taste)
• ¾ cup / 180 ml white wine
• about ½ tsp saffron
• a few fresh basil leaves for garnish
• ⅓ cup / 80 ml sour cream
• about 1 tbsp cornstarch in ¼ cup / 60 ml water

Preparation

1. Set a heavy pan over low-medium heat. Melt butter and add chopped onion. Cook until soft and translucent, about 5-7 minutes. Do not brown.
2. Add garlic and salt. Cook until garlic is soft.
3. Add white wine, shredded basil leaves, tomatoes and saffron.
4. Add sea bass fillets. Cover partially and cook until the fish is done. Turn once during cooking.
5. Remove sea bass fillets from the pan and keep warm.
6. Add shrimp. Cook for about a minute.
7. Stir in sour cream. Whisk the cornstarch into ¼ cup / 60 ml water and add to the pan. Turn up heat and stir frequently until the starch thickens.
8. Serve fish fillets with the sauce. Garnish with fresh basil leaves.

Serve with pasta.

Preparation time about 1 hour

Yields 4 servings