Coastal Style Roasted Sea Bass Or Other Large Whole Fish Recipes

WHOLE ROASTED SEA BASS

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.

ROASTED SEA BASS

Steps:

• Preheat the broiler. Score sea bass at 1-inch intervals. Brush the inside cavity of the fish with olive oil, and season with 1/4 teaspoon salt and a pinch of pepper. Place chile peppers and 10 thyme sprigs inside the cavity. Brush both sides of the fish with olive oil, and season with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon ground pepper.
• In a 10-by-18-inch roasting pan, or one large enough to hold the fish, arrange lime, tomato, and onion slices so they form a bed for the fish, and season them with 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Place the fish on top, and pour 6 tablespoons olive oil over fish.
• Transfer the roasting pan to the broiler, and cook fish for 10 minutes, until the skin is slightly crisp on top. Lower the oven to 400 degrees. Add wine to the roasting pan, and return fish to the oven to roast. Roast until the fish is opaque and cooked through, about 35 minutes.
• Remove the pan from the oven, and transfer fish to a large serving dish.
• Pick 1 heaping teaspoon thyme leaves from remaining sprigs. Place the vegetables from the roasting pan into a sieve, and strain the juices into a bowl, pressing out any additional juices from the vegetables to create sauce. Stir the thyme leaves and remaining 4 tablespoons olive oil into this sauce, adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper, and add lime juice to taste. Gently reheat the sauce in a small saucepan over low heat, making sure not to let it boil. Fillet the fish, pour the sauce over, and serve.

WHOLE ROASTED BASS

Steps:

• Score the flesh of the fish from top to belly to 5 equal incisions from head to tail. Repeat this process on both sides. Season with salt and pepper on both sides and in the cavity. Make sure the seasoning is inside the incisions. Repeat this process with the herb oil. Place the fish on the barbecue and grill for about 15 minutes on each side. Be careful when turning the fish over and removing from the grill. The fish will be more delicate when it is cooked. For maximum flavor brush the fish with herb oil as soon as you remove it from the grill.
• Combine all ingredients. This can be prepared in advance and used for multiple recipes.

COASTAL-STYLE ROASTED SEA BASS OR OTHER LARGE WHOLE FISH

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.