Grilled salt and pepper sea bass with salsa verde

Recipe by Rachel Zammit Cutajar

Photo by Rachel Zammit Cutajar

There’s nothing quite like a whole fish. As healthy as it is tasty, this is the perfect break from Christmas indulgence. Wholesome Mediterranean ingredients with an added kick from the salsa verde. As with any fresh fish dish, the freshness of the fish trumps the breed, so ask your fishmonger what (s)he recommends. The fish should be springy to the touch with clean, bright red gills and bright eyes.

Grilled salt and pepper sea bass with salsa verde

Ingredients

• 1 whole sea bass (or any other whole fish), cleaned with scales left on
• Handful marjoram
• 1 clove garlic, whole but smashed to release flavour
• Lemon slices
• Olive oil
• Delimara Sea Salt
• Ground black pepper

Salsa verde

• Large handful parsley, minced
• Large handful coriander, minced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 gherkin, finely chopped 
• 1 tbsp capers, finely chopped
• 1 green chilli, finely chopped
• ½ lemon, zest and juice
• ½ tsp coriander seeds, crushed
• Delimara Sea Salt
• Black pepper, ground
• Olive oil

Method

1. Heat the grill to medium.
2. Place the cleaned fish on a chopping board (ask your fish monger to do this for you) and pat dry with kitchen towels.
3. Season the fish, inside and out with Delimara Sea Salt, black pepper and olive oil.
4. Stuff the cavity with sprigs of marjoram, lemon slices and the garlic clove. 
5. Add a little more olive oil over the top and place under the grill for 20 mins.
6. To make the salsa verde, mix all the ingredients and top with olive oil until just covering. Mix well.
7. Take the fish out of the oven and allow to rest for a few mins.
8. Serve with lashings of salsa verde. 

Delimara Sea Salt

Delimara Sea Salt is hand-harvested from salt pans in the most southern-eastern tip of Malta in Delimara. Some of the oldest salt pans on the island, these are some of just 40 salt pans that date back to the Roman era. Delimara Sea Salt is an essential ingredient to the Mediterranean diet. Free from synthetic materials and packed with pure minerals that come from the sea, the natural forming rock from which it is collected and the sun. 

The natural flakes of Delimara Sea Salt stick better to food, dissolve faster and blend more evenly making it a sought-after product by chefs and culinary experts in kitchens around the world. Its crunchy texture makes it the ideal finishing salt, which is great for sprinkling over meats, fish, salad or vegetables and is wonderful over chocolate.