Crabmeat-Crusted Sea Bass With Wilted Spinach Salad

From Dallas' Bistral.

Every cook needs a few recipes that dress up the basics. In this creation from the kitchen of Dan Landsberg, the chef at Dallas’ Bistral (2900 McKinney Avenue), the fundamentals consist of fresh fish, a vegetable, and a salad. But as interpreted by Landsberg, the fish is elevated to sea bass filets in a savory horseradish-crabmeat crust, the vegetable becomes carrots lightly sautéed in olive oil, and the salad is baby spinach leaves wilted in hot pancetta vinaigrette. Seldom has simplicity seemed so sophisticated.

Sea Bass in Crabmeat Crust

1/2 cup shredded crabmeat, cleaned of shell
1/4 cup grated fresh horseradish
1/4 cup breadcrumbs
2 tablespoons minced red bell pepper
2 tablespoons minced yellow bell pepper
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
salt and pepper to taste
6 five- to seven-ounce sea bass filets
2 tablespoons olive oil

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine first 8 ingredients and set aside. Season fish with salt and pepper and spread a thin layer of crabmeat mixture on one side of each filet. Over medium-high heat, sauté filets, crust side down, in olive oil until golden brown. Turn and sauté for about 2 more minutes. To finish, bake crust side up for about 6 minutes.

Spinach Salad and Pancetta Vinaigrette

1/4 cup minced pancetta (Italian bacon)
1 shallot, minced
2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon red-wine vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
1/3 to 1/2 cup olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
6 cups baby spinach

In a saucepan over medium heat, cook pancetta until golden brown but not crisp. Pour off grease, strain, and reserve. Lightly sauté shallot in same pan, but do not brown. Add vinegars and reduce volume by half. Remove from stove and stir in Dijon mustard and thyme, then whisk in olive oil and reserved warm grease from pancetta. Season with salt and pepper. Just before serving, toss spinach with dressing (rewarmed and rewhisked if necessary).