Best Whole Roasted Sea Bass Recipes

WHOLE ROASTED SEA BASS

Whole Roasted Sea Bass image

This recipe for whole roasted sea bass is courtesy of Sam Hayward of Fore Street.

Provided by Martha Stewart

Categories Food & Cooking Ingredients Seafood Recipes

Number Of Ingredients 9

Ingredients

2 whole sea bass (1 1/4 pounds), gutted, gilled, scaled, and fins removed
Coarse sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for baking dish
2 sprigs fresh thyme
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
2 sprigs fresh flat-leaf parsley
6 fresh bay leaves
1/2 cup thinly sliced scallions
Juice of 1 lemon

Steps:

Season the cavity and exterior of fish with salt and pepper. Cover with plastic, and refrigerate for 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Lightly brush with oil a baking dish that is just large enough to hold fish without crowding. Divide thyme, rosemary, and parsley evenly between each fish, and place inside cavity. Place 2 bay leaves in cavity of each fish, and place remaining 2 bay leaves in baking dish. Sprinkle scallions over and around fish; drizzle with olive oil.
Transfer to oven and roast 15 minutes. Continue to roast, checking every few minutes, until the thickest part of the fish is just firm, about 5 minutes more.
Drizzle fish with lemon juice and transfer to a cutting board; set baking dish aside. Working from the head to the tail, cut along backbone to separate the flesh from the bone. Carefully lift top fillet and transfer to a plate. Lift and discard bones. Gently lift second fillet to same plate. Repeat process with remaining fish. Drizzle with any pan juices before serving.

COASTAL-STYLE ROASTED SEA BASS OR OTHER LARGE WHOLE FISH

Coastal-Style Roasted Sea Bass or Other Large Whole Fish image

Try to use branches of fresh oregano, marjoram, or fennel here; they really make a tremendous difference. The first two are grown by many gardeners, and a good gardener can probably spare some. Bronze-herb-fennel grows wild all over southern California and is easy to find (it's also grown by some gardeners). Occasionally you can find one of these in a big bunch at a market, too; you'll need a big bunch to try the grilling option. In any case, choose a fish with a simple bone structure so it can be served and eaten easily. The best for this purpose are sea bass, red snapper, grouper, striped bass, and mackerel. One advantage in using the oven over the grill is that in roasting you can add some peeled, chunked potatoes to the bottom of the roasting pan as well; they'll finish cooking along with the onions.

Yield makes 4 servings

Number Of Ingredients 9

Ingredients

One 3-pound sea bass, gilled, gutted, and scaled, with head left on or removed
1 teaspoon salt
2 garlic cloves, cut into very thin slivers
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 lemon, thinly sliced
20 fresh oregano or marjoram sprigs or 1 teaspoon dried
8 small onions, peeled and cut in half
1 cup dry white wine or fish, chicken, or vegetable stock, preferably homemade (page 161, 160, or 162), or water, plus a little more if needed
Black pepper to taste

Steps:

Cut 3 or 4 gashes on each side of the fish, from top to bottom. Salt the gashes and salt the fish's cavity as well. Let it sit while you prepare the other ingredients. Preheat the oven to 450°F.
Push half of the garlic slivers into the gashes. Rub the fish with a little of the olive oil and pour the rest into the bottom of a large baking pan. Spread the lemon slices over the bottom of the pan and top it with most of the oregano. Lay the fish over all, then spread the onions and remaining garlic around the fish. Pour the wine over all and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Top with the remaining oregano.
Cover with aluminum foil and bake, undisturbed, until the onions are nearly tender, 20 to 30 minutes. Uncover and continue to bake, shaking the pan occasionally, until the fish is cooked through, another 5 to 10 minutes (look at one of the gashes in the thickest part of the fish; the meat will appear opaque clear down to the central bone). If the pan is drying out, add a little more liquid.
To serve, scoop the flesh from the fish with a spoon and top with some sauce.
If the weather's good, and you have access to fennel branches, this is easier: Start by preheating a charcoal or gas grill; the fire should be quite hot and the grill rack about 4 inches from the heat source. Make a bed of fennel stalks directly on the grill bed. Sprinkle 1 1/2 to 2 pounds of sturdy fish fillets, like halibut (these may be steaks), striped bass, monkfish, or cod, with salt and cayenne. Grill right on the branches. While the fish is cooking, grind a teaspoon or more of fennel or dill seeds; juice 1 lemon and thinly slice another. When the fish is done, remove it from the grill, leaving as much of the stalks behind as possible (some of the burned fronds will adhere to the fish; this is fine). Sprinkle the fish with the fennel or dill seeds, then decorate it with the lemon slices. Drizzle with the lemon juice and a bit of olive oil and serve.