Lots of lovely wild line caught sea bass on our counter right now so a good time to post this recipe for roast sea bass with rosemary and garlic, on a tasty bed of potatoes and fennel. A traditional Italian combination of flavours that works well with many fish.
Quantities below will serve 4 people.
Ingredients For Roast Sea Bass
1 large sea bass from Walter Purkis & Sons
2 large potatoes (floury or baking varieties)
2 large fennel bulbs
3 large sprigs of fresh rosemary – some extra for garnish too
2 garlic cloves
1/2 fresh lemon thinly sliced
olive oil
2 teaspoons of fennel seeds
Salt and pepper for seasoning
Cooking Method for Roast Sea Bass
Pre heat your oven to 200°c/ Gas mark 5.
Slice the potatoes into large discs about 1cm thick. Par boil them for about 2 to 3 minutes. Watch them closely so the don’t crumble. Remove right away from the water so they stop cooking.
To prepare the fish make three diagonal slashes each side – not to deep. Place a small sprig of the herbs and a slice of garlic in each cut. Put half of the lemon slices and any remaining garlic and rosemary into the cavity and with some salt and pepper.
Drizzle plenty of olive oil over the fish and rub to get even coverage on both sides. Season well with salt and pepper then sprinkle over plenty of the fennel seeds.
Trim the fennel then slice lengthways in 1cm slices. Use these along with the par boiled potatoes to create a bed for the fish in a large roasting tray. drizzle with oil and season with salt and pepper along with any remaining fennel seeds.
Cover the tray with foil and bake for about 30 minutes. Check after about 20 minutes the fish will be cooked if the meat has become opaque and the flakes pull away from the bone easily.
Remove from the oven and serve the fish right away on a large dish sitting on the bed of fennel and potato. Garnish with rosemary sprigs.
You can find more sea bass recipes here >>
