Baked Sea Bass with Garlic Sauce.

Sea bass is a beautiful, delicately flavoured and textured, white marine fish that is found in European and American waters and is much sought after in many restaurants. Although reasonably priced in the supermarkets - depending on availability - sea bass is always one of the more expensive fish on a restaurant menu.

European sea bass is often farmed in Greece and exported, and can be bought fresh or frozen at sea. Large specimens are cooked like salmon, whilst smaller fish are prepared as trout. Generally, sea bass is best suited to being baked, fried or grilled but it can also be poached or steamed as well.

Although sea bass is delicate in flavour, it can be partnered with strong flavourings such as lemon, garlic, chilli, coriander, capers or ginger. It is also often served with a rosemary sauce.

Sea bass is low in calories and saturated fat and rich in vitamins A, B6, B12, magnesium, phosphorus and iron. It is an excellent source of Omega-3 essential fatty acids - as are most types of fish.

Purchase your sea bass already scaled, gutted and cleaned by the fishmonger, to save on getting your hands and kitchen dirty, and also to save time.

In the following recipe, whole sea bass are simply stuffed with lemon slices and fresh rosemary springs, brushed with olive oil - for a Mediterranean flavour - and baked in the oven. The fish is then served with generous spoonfuls of the delicious garlic sauce that also contains lemon juice, capers, olive oil and bay leaves. Serve with a fresh salad or grilled or steamed seasonal vegetables.

Baked Sea Bass Recipe

Ingredients

3 lb (1.4 kg) fresh sea bass, scaled and fins removed
4 sprigs of rosemary
2 tbsp of olive oil
½ lemon cut into thin slices
For the garlic sauce
2 crushed cloves of garlic
4 tbsp of water
2 tbsp of olive oil
2 fresh bay leaves
2 tsp of sea salt
2 tsp of capers
1 tsp of lemon juice

Method

Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C).
Line a baking tray with a lightly greased sheet of foil.
Rinse the fish under cold running water and pat dry with kitchen paper.
With a sharp knife make diagonal slashes at intervals down the fish on both sides.
Place the slices of lemon inside the body cavity along with 2 sprigs of rosemary.
Brush the fish with the olive oil and place onto the prepared aluminium foil.
Place into the hot oven and bake for 45 - 50 minutes until the skin is crispy and the flesh is opaque.
Meanwhile prepare the garlic sauce. Blend together the capers, garlic, salt and water in a machine or with an electric hand whisk.
Using a pestle and mortar, bruise the 2 sprigs of rosemary together with the bay leaves.
Add this to the caper and garlic mixture and mix.
Add the olive oil and lemon juice and blend.
Season with salt and pepper.
When the sea bass is done, remove from the oven and transfer to a serving dish. Spoon the sauce over the fish and serve.