Anne Burrell's Branzino with Basil Pesto & Eggplant Caponata Worst Cooks in America Food Network

Chef Anne Burrell serves her pan-cooked branzino atop a mix of colorful vegetables, herbaceous pesto and pickled raisins.
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A new batch of pampered and spoiled recruits enlist in the Worst Cooks culinary bootcamp. Coming from lives where silver spoons replace spatulas, these nepo babies and delivery divas have never lifted a finger in the kitchen. Now, Chef Anne Burrell and the newest mentor, Tiffany Derry, take these needy newbies from whining to dining in an intense and outrageous culinary crash course. At the end of the seven weeks, the last recruit standing will walk away with a $25,000 prize and bragging rights for their winning mentor.

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Seared Branzino with Basil Pesto and Eggplant Caponata
RECIPE COURTESY OF ANNE BURRELL
Level: Easy
Total: 1 hr
Active: 1 hr
Yield: 4 to 6 servings

Ingredients

Caponata:
2 zucchini, cut into 1/2-inch dice
1 large eggplant, peeled, alternating 1-inch strips of skin left on, cut into 1-inch dice
Extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt
1 large red onion, cut into 1/4-inch dice
Pinch crushed red pepper
6 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
3 ribs celery, cut into 1/2-inch dice
1 fennel bulb, cored and cut into 1/2-inch dice, fronds reserved for garnish
1 red bell pepper, cored and cut into 1/2-inch dice
1 yellow bell pepper, cored and cut into 1/2-inch dice
1/4 cup golden raisins
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup tomato paste
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup capers
1/4 cup pitted kalamata olives, cut into slivers
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
1/2 bunch mint, cut into a chiffonade

Pesto:
1 cup packed basil leaves
1/3 cup toasted pine nuts
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
2 cloves garlic
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more if needed
2 tablespoons mascarpone cheese
Kosher salt

Branzino:
6 branzino fillets, skin on
Kosher salt
Extra-virgin olive oil

Directions

For the caponata: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. In a large bowl, toss the zucchini and eggplant generously with olive oil and salt to taste. Spread out on a baking sheet and roast until the vegetables are soft and mushy, 15 to 20 minutes. Reserve.

Coat a wide deep pot with olive oil. Add the onion and crushed red pepper and season with salt to taste. Cook over medium-high heat until the onions are soft and aromatic, 8 to 10 minutes. Add the garlic, celery and fennel and cook for another 5 to 6 minutes. Stir in the red and yellow bell peppers and cook for another 5 to 6 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine the raisins, vinegar and sugar in a small bowl, set aside to lightly pickle while the vegetables cook.

Add the roasted eggplant and zucchini, tomato paste and water to the fennel mixture. Cook until the water has evaporated. Stir in the capers, olives, pine nuts, mint and raisin mixture. Cook for another 5 to 6 minutes.

For the pesto: Add the basil, pine nuts, Parmesan, garlic and olive oil into a blender. Blend for a few seconds until it comes together but still has a little texture. Add more olive oil little by little if its too dry. Add the mascarpone and salt to taste and blend to combine.

For the fish: Pat the fish dry. Season both sides well with salt. Heat a large nonstick pan with a nice coating of olive oil over medium-high heat. Coat the bottom of a smaller, separate pan with some olive oil. Place the branzino into the heated pan, skin-side down, and press the smaller pan over the top of the flesh firmly (but you dont want to squash the fish).

Cook the fish until the skin is crispy and the fish is about two-thirds of the way cooked, about 3 minutes. Flip the fish, then lower the heat and gently cook for 1 to 2 more minutes, or until the fish is cooked through. Remove from the pan and allow to rest, skin-side up.

To serve, spread some of the pesto onto the bottom of the plate. Follow with a scoop of the caponata and finally the fish skin-side up. Garnish with fennel fronds.

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Anne Burrell's Branzino with Basil Pesto & Eggplant Caponata | Worst Cooks in America | Food Network
https://youtu.be/U7v8eDVylyE