Mediterranean · Free recipe
Whole Roasted Sea Bass
A whole sea bass, scored and stuffed with lemon, fennel fronds, and garlic, roasts on a bed of sliced fennel and potatoes that soak up its juices. The skin crisps, the flesh lifts cleanly off the bone, and bringing the pan to the table feels festive.
- Prep
- 20 min
- Cook
- 45 min
- Total
- 1 hr 5 min
- Serves
- 2
- Level
- Medium
Method
-
Heat the oven to 425F and toss the potatoes and sliced fennel in a roasting pan with 2 tablespoons of oil, 1 teaspoon of salt, and half the pepper.
-
Roast the vegetables for 20 minutes until they start to soften and brown at the edges.
-
Meanwhile, pat the fish dry inside and out and cut 3 diagonal slashes about 1/2 inch deep on each side down to the bone.
-
Season the cavity and skin with the remaining salt and pepper, stuff the cavity with half the lemon slices, the garlic, thyme, and a handful of fennel fronds, and rub the outside with the remaining oil.
-
Lay the fish on top of the vegetables, tuck the remaining lemon slices and capers around it, and pour the wine into the pan.
-
Roast for 20 to 25 minutes until the skin is blistered, the eye has turned white, and the flesh at the thickest slash is opaque and pulls away from the bone, about 135F.
-
Rest for 5 minutes, then run a knife along the backbone, lift off the top fillet, peel away the skeleton in one piece, and serve both fillets over the vegetables with pan juices.
Zest note from the test kitchen
The slashes do more than look nice; they let heat reach the thickest part of the fish so it cooks evenly from head to tail.
