Coastal Style Roasted Sea Bass Or Other Large Whole Fish Recipes

Steps:

• Heat oven to 400 degrees. Coat fish with oil and season it generously inside and out with salt and pepper. Stuff cavity with lemon slices and herbs. Transfer to a baking sheet or large roasting pan and bake until the flesh is opaque and separates easily from the backbone, 35 to 45 minutes for a 4-pound fish, 45 to 60 minutes for a 6-pound fish.
• While fish cooks, toss mushrooms with 3 tablespoons oil, 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Spread mushrooms out in one layer on 1 or 2 baking sheets, taking care not to crowd them. When fish is done, remove from oven and turn on broiler. Broil mushrooms until they are crisp and golden, 5 to 10 minutes.
• Let fish rest in roasting pan for 5 minutes. Using back of a fork, scrape away fish skin and divide top fillet among plates. Lift away backbone and discard; scoop bottom fillet away from its skin (which should stick to the pan) and divide among plates. Drizzle fillets with good olive oil, season with flaky sea salt and serve with lemon wedges and crispy mushrooms on the side.

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.

Steps:

• Melt butter in a medium saucepan over low heat. Add mushrooms, shallots, salt, and pepper, and cook until soft, about 10 minutes. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
• Raise heat to high, add Port, and reduce by half. Add clam juice or fish stock and reduce again by half. Add cream and reduce one more time by half. Remove from heat, strain sauce, and stir in peppers and olives. Reserve in a warm place.
• Season fillets all over with salt and pepper. Melt remaining 4 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over high heat. Saute fish for 1 minute. Turn over, transfer to oven, and bake, uncovered, for 3 to 5 minutes. Arrange fish on individual plates. Spoon on warm sauce and garnish with julienned prosciutto. Serve immediately.

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.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place the chives in a food processor. Turn on the processor and add the olive oil through the feed tube in a thin steady stream. Season with salt and pepper. Stop to taste, then adjust, adding more oil, chives, salt or pepper as desired. Strain through a fine sieve into a bowl and reserve.
• Place the sea bass in a sauté pan or roasting pan just large enough to fit the fillets. Sprinkle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place in the oven and roast until the fish is just barely cooked in the center. It will continue to cook once it is removed from the oven. (It should take about 9 minutes per inch of thickness.)
• Transfer the sea bass to serving plates and sprinkle with the chive oil.

Steps:

• Heat the grill to high. Put the peppers, skin-side up, onto a baking tray and grill for about 20 mins until the skins blacken all over. Put them into a food bag, seal, then leave for 10 mins. Once cool, peel away the skins. Tear the flesh into strips. Mix with the tomatoes, garlic and chilli in a bowl. Roughly chop most of the parsley leaves and add to the bowl with the hazelnuts, vinegar and oil, then stir well. This salad 'matures' well, and tastes even better if you can make it a few hours ahead.
• When ready to cook, heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Rinse and dry the fish, score the flesh on each side, then put the parsley stalks and a few lemon slices into the cavities. Put a few more lemon slices in an oiled baking dish and lay the fish on top. Season the fish well, drizzle with more olive oil, scatter with remaining parsley, then roast for 20 mins, until the flesh flakes easily.
• Serve the fish from the dish, set the bowl of salad and the potatoes alongside, then dig in.