serves 4
This recipe is one of the simplest to make in the entire book and one of my personal favorites, equally suitable for a quick midweek meal as it is for a more formal dinner party. The seemingly uncommon marriage of red wine and fish is balanced by the addition of mushrooms. Serve this on its own with a simple green salad and, yes, drink some Greek red wine, perhaps a tannic xinomavro from Macedonia or a more from supple agiorgitiko from Nemea in the Peloponnese.
1 pound (450 g) mixed fresh button, fresh portobello, and dried chanterelle mushrooms
4 tablespoons (60 ml) extra-virgin Greek olive oil
1 red onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
⅔ cup (160 ml) dry Greek red wine, such as xinomavro
3 fresh thyme sprigs
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon Greek balsamic vinegar
4 skin-on Mediterranean sea bass fillets
3 tablespoons snipped fresh chives
Wipe all the mushrooms clean. Slice the button mushrooms and the portobellos. Place the dried chanterelles in a bowl with warm water just to cover and set aside to rehydrate for about 20 minutes.
In a large deep skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until soft and lightly colored, about 10 minutes. Stir in the garlic. Add the button and portobello mushrooms. Drain the chanterelles, reserving the soaking liquid. Add the rehydrated chanterelles to the skillet. Stir gently all together, reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook for 5 minutes to wilt the mushrooms.
Add the wine, raise the heat to medium, and bring to a simmer. Add the thyme. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Add the tomato paste and vinegar. Cook for 5 minutes, until the sauce thickens. Strain the reserved mushroom soaking liquid through a fine-mesh sieve into the skillet. Stir gently.
Lightly season the fish fillets with salt and pepper and place them skin-side up over the mushroom mixture. Cover and cook for about 7 minutes, until fork-tender. Sprinkle the chopped chives over the contents of the pan, drizzle with the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil, and serve.