Salt Roasted Bass Recipes

MEDITERRANEAN PAN SEARED SEA BASS RECIPE WITH GARLIC BELL PEPPER MEDLEY

Steps:

• Take the fish out of the fridge about 20 minutes before cooking. Sprinkle with salt on both sides and set aside.
• In a small bowl, combine the spices to make the spice mixture. Set aside for now.
• In a medium-sized skillet, heat 2 tbsp olive oil over medium-high heat until hot and shimmering but not smoking.
• Add the bell peppers, shallots, and garlic. Season with salt and 1 tsp of the spice mixture you prepared earlier. Cook, stirring regularly, for 5 minutes or until the peppers have softened. Turn the heat to lowest, and stir in the chopped olives. Leave on low heat as you prepare the fish.
• Pat fish dry and season with the remaining spice mixture on both sides as well.
• In a large skillet, preferably cast iron, heat 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil over medium-high until shimmering but not smoking. Add the fish pieces (you can reduce heat to medium, if needed). Push down on the middle (thickest part) for 30 seconds or so. Cook fish on one side, undisturbed, until nicely browned, about 4 to 6 minutes. Using a spatula, carefully turn fish over and cook on other side for 3-4 minutes until nicely browned as well. (Important Note- look for browned edges before you turn it over. If parts of the fish are stuck, you should be able to carefully scrape it with the spatula and turn. But, if the fish is entirely stuck, it's not ready to be turned over. Leave it for a little bit. It should release when ready.)
• Remove fish from heat, immediately drizzle lemon juice. Serve hot with the bell pepper medley spooned on top. Add a side of cooked pearl couscous or rice, if you like. Or add a gluten-free side of your choice. Enjoy!

ROASTED STRIPED BASS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Heat the oil in a medium saute pan and saute the onion and pancetta over medium-low heat for 10 minutes, or until the onion is translucent. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Add the tomatoes, saffron, salt, pepper, white wine, and Pernod, if using, and simmer over medium heat for 5 minutes.
• Meanwhile, lay the fish in a 10-by-14-inch baking dish and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add the shrimp and mussels to the dish. Pour the sauce over the seafood and bake uncovered for 20 to 30 minutes, until the fish and shrimp are cooked through and the mussels are open. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.

STRIPED BASS IN SALT DOME

Steps:

• Heat oven to 450 degrees. Cover the bottom of a baking sheet large enough to hold the fish with parchment paper.
• Rinse fish inside and out with cold water and drain. Dry with paper towels. Stuff body cavity with herbs and citrus, saving a few lemon slices for garnish. Set aside.
• Pour 1 box of salt into a large bowl, add egg whites and water, then the second box of salt. Use your hands to work mixture to a mortar-like consistency. Lay down a 1/2-inch thick bed for the fish to lay on with a 1-inch clearance on all sides. Lay the fish on this bed and pile the remainder of the salt mortar on top. Work into a smooth dome completely encasing the fish. (Don't worry if the head or tail poke out a little.)
• Cook approximately 35 minutes. Check for doneness by pushing the probe of an instant read thermometer through the salt into the fish. When temperature reaches 130 degrees, remove from oven, and rest at room temperature for 5 minutes. Open the fish at the table by hitting the dome several times with a small hammer and lifting off the slabs of salt. Brush away any stray salt. Gently pull out dorsal (back) fin. Using a fish knife or serrated pie server, make a single incision all the way down the back of the fish and around the gill plate. Then lift the skin off working from the head to the tail. Remove meat from top side of fish, going down one side of the spine then the other. Grasp the tail and remove the skeleton, (it should come up intact). The meat revealed below will slide right off the skin.
• Sprinkle meat with a little virgin oil and lemon juice. Serve immediately.

ROAST SEA BASS & VEGETABLE TRAYBAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Arrange the potato and pepper slices on a large non-stick baking tray. Drizzle over 1 tbsp oil and scatter with the rosemary, a pinch of salt and a good grinding of pepper. Toss everything together well and roast for 25 mins, turning over halfway through, until the potatoes are golden and crisp at the edges.
• Arrange the fish fillets on top and scatter over the olives. Place a couple of lemon slices on top of the fish and drizzle with the remaining oil. Roast for further 7-8 mins until the fish is cooked through. Serve scattered with basil leaves.

ROASTED WHOLE BLACK BASS WITH HERB STUFFING

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425°F. Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper and lightly brush parchment with oil. Dissolve saffron in orange-flower water and 3 Tbsp. hot water in a small bowl.
• Heat 3 Tbsp. oil in a large skillet over medium. Cook shallot and green garlic, stirring often, until shallot is soft, about 3 minutes. Add parsley, tarragon, cilantro, mint, and turmeric and cook, stirring often, until herbs darken slightly, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in chiles and lemon zest; season with salt and pepper.
• Divide fish between prepared baking sheets. Open up and brush half of saffron mixture over flesh; season with salt. Stuff with shallot mixture; tie closed with kitchen twine, spacing 2" apart. Brush outsides of fish with remaining saffron mixture; season with salt. Roast until flesh is flaky and opaque, 16-20 minutes. Carefully move a rack to upper third of oven; turn on broiler. Working in 2 batches, broil fish until skin begins to crisp, about 2 minutes. Let cool slightly; squeeze limes over.
• Fish can be seasoned and stuffed 2 hours ahead.