Baked Sea Bass With Lemon & Herbs (with Tarator Sauce)
This recipe features a delicious whole sea bass stuffed with a medley of aromatic herbs, lemon slices, and garlic. The fish is baked to perfection until tender and flavorful. The dish is served with a creamy and nutty tarator sauce that complements the delicate sea bass beautifully. Enjoy this elegant and flavorful dish for a special meal!
— Constant Cookbook
Ingredients
- 1 whole sea bass , about 1.8kg/4lb, gutted and scaled
- 1-2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 large lemons , thinly sliced (peel and all)
- 3 garlic cloves , crushed flat
- a handful of fresh soft herbs, eg parsley , fennel, dill, tarragon, basil (either one single herb or a mixture)
- 50g blanched almonds
- 50g pine nuts
- 2 large, thin slices of white bread , crusts removed
- 2 garlic cloves , crushed and roughly chopped
- juice of ½ lemon , plus a squeeze
- 150ml extra-virgin olive oil
- about 2 tbsp or so fish stock or cold water
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 230C/gas 8/fan210C. Pat the fish dry with kitchen paper, inside and out. Rub the skin with oil and season with salt and pepper. Lay three-quarters of the lemon slices on a heavy baking sheet and place the fish on top (see tip). Stuff the belly with the remaining lemon, the garlic and plenty of herbs, then season.
- Bake the fish for 30 minutes or until the flesh is opaque at its thickest part – slide a knife into the backbone area to heck.
- To serve, first gently peel the skin back, then lift off a chunk of the back fillet and a chunk of the belly to make one serving: each side should yield 2 portions. Use any lemon slices that are nicely brown, rather than jet-black, as a garnish. FOR THE TARATOR SAUCE
- Put the nuts in a food processor and whizz to a fine powder.Wet the bread, then squeeze out all the moisture. Crumble it into the nuts, add the garlic and whizz to combine thoroughly.
- Add the lemon juice, a pinch of salt and a good grinding of pepper. Start pouring the olive oil in through the feeder tube, in a steady, fine trickle. Once the oil is incorporated, the sauce will be very smooth but rather solid, so add enough water (or stock) to let the sauce down to a thick, creamy consistency.
- Finally, taste the sauce, adjust the seasoning and add a little more lemon juice if necessary.
Yield
Serves 4
Nutrition
- Calories: 371 calories
- Fat Content: 11 grams fat
- Saturated Fat Content: 2 grams saturated fat
- Carbohydrate Content: 1 grams carbohydrates
- Protein Content: 66 grams protein
- Sodium Content: 0.6 milligram of sodium
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