Changing Courses: Chef Manu Buffara’s Sea Bass With Citrus and Perfect Day Lactose-Free Cream Cheese

sea-bass recipe ingredients

Originally from Brazil, Chef Manu seeks inspiration for her dishes from the people she encounters, from nature, animals, the ocean, and more. She has made a career of bringing culture and sustainable ingredients to the table, and was just honored as Latin America’s Best Female Chef 2022. Chef Manu has used food as a vehicle for sustainability in and out of the kitchen, from building urban gardens, installing beehives, removing beef from her menu, and empowering disadvantaged communities to be able to feed themselves with her non-profit ‘Instituto Manu Buffara’.

We had the privilege of teaming up with Chef Manu in our Changing Courses video series, getting her point of view on the future of our planet and the work that will create a equitable, resilient, and diverse food system for all of us. If you had the chance to watch her prepare a delicious, sustainable meal using our animal-free cream cheese, and were hoping to recreate the dish at home, look no further. 

Recipe for Citrus Sea Bass with Perfect Day Cream Cheese

This recipe serves 4.

To Make the Fish:

0.5 g sugar

0.5 g fine pink salt

200 g sea bass loin

Mix salt and sugar to cure. Season the fish with the cure and let it rest on a wire rack for at least 4 hours. Dry with absorbent paper and keep covered in the fridge.

To Make the Crema:

80 g Perfect Day’s Animal-Free Cream Cheese (check out our partner, Modern Kitchen, to try animal-free cream cheese)

5 ml lemon juice

1 tablespoon of chopped fresh herbs

1 tablespoon of minced onions

Lemon Zest

In a bowl mix Perfect Day Cream Cheese with olive oil, lemon juice, minced onions, herbs. Salt and pepper to taste.

To Make the Crispy Cashew:

50 g cashew nuts

10 g olive oil

5 g chopped herbs of choice (parsley, etc)

In a pan, fry chopped cashew with olive oil, freshly ground pepper, salt, and freshly ground black pepper. Let it cool on the side and mix with herbs.

To Make the Citrus:

150 g grapefruit

140 g Bahia orange

100 g lemon

80 g lime

Skin all citrus. Remove the seeds from all the citrus, slice, and set aside.

To serve:

Cut the fish into thin slices like for sashimi or carpaccio. arrange the fish slices on a plate. Spoon bits of the Perfect Day Cream Cheese condiment each bite of fish has a bit of the condiment. Distribute two slices of each citrus among the fish slices. Place two teaspoons of the Crispy Cashew on each plate. Finish with fleur de sel and edible flowers.

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