Sea Bass Piccata Recipe

Crispy browned sea bass filets with a light crust with a garlicky, lemony, white wine sauce and capers! A buttery but light, elegant dish that’s easy to make and ready in 15 minutes.

Back with another Italian inspired dish because they’re comforting, familiar yet classy and crowd pleasing!!

This Sea Bass Piccata is so easy to make (two cooking steps!) and takes 15 minutes to make, start to finish. Gotta love how quickly fish cooks!

Now if you’re on the fence about fish, I completely understand — it has taken me YEARS to get comfortable eating fish regularly and cooking it in home. I truly think one bad fish experience can realllllly set you back.

By best piece of advice is to BUY GOOD FISH. Sounds simple but if the quality of the product you’re cooking isn’t gold standard, there’s nothing you can do to mask a fishy fish. I love shopping at TJ’s Seafood Market or Rex’s Seafood here in Dallas but Whole Foods and Central Market are also great options. Look for markets that sell fresh fish, not previously frozen — they can’t keep it shelved for as long so you know it’s extra fresh.

Sea bass is also a very lightly flavored, flakey white fish similar to halibut. I love the heartiness of the filets — their meatiness reminds me more of tender chicken (chicken of the sea? LOL) than a thin filet like tilapia. For someone who hasn’t always loved fish, it’s been easier to get excited about cooking and eating sea bass and halibut!

What is Sea Bass Piccata?

“Piccata” means cooked in a sauce of butter, lemon and parsley. Typically you’ll see chicken or veal piccata on menus which are usually dredged (either lightly or heavily) in a flour coating before pan fried and finished with the piccata sauce over top!

Our version uses light flakey sea bass, a very light gluten free flour dredge and a ghee-based, dairy free piccata sauce.

How do you make sea bass piccata?

First, you’ll need a couple filets of sea bass from your local fish monger. I like to order them as 3-4 oz. filets cut “brownie style” or in squares and I ask for them to be as even in size as possible.

1. Sprinkle and pat sea bass filets with kosher salt, pepper and gluten free flour on both sides.
2. Heat avocado oil in non-stick pan over medium high heat, then add filets without moving.
3. Cook for 3 minutes, flip over carefully, then cook another 2-3 minutes before taking off heat.
4. In same pan, add a little more oil and minced garlic. After about 30 seconds, add white wine and chicken broth. Bring to a low boil and let sauce reduce by half.
5. On low heat, stir in ghee, lemon juice and capers. Place fish back into sauce and top with lemon slices and parsley or basil leaves!

I hope you enjoy this recipe — we slurped every bite up!!

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