Preheat the oven to 220°C (425°F, gas mark 7). Salt the inside and outside of the fish, then set aside for 20 mins. Rinse and pat dry. Slash the skin of the bass in about three …
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Slash the skin of the bass in about three places on each side and insert the lemon slices. Place the herbs inside the fish, then transfer to a greased baking tray. Heat the oil in a small pan and very gently cook the garlic for 1-2 mins, but do not allow to brown. Pour the oil and garlic on top of the fish. Bake in the hot oven for 20 mins.
If you are baking more than one bass filet at once, flip each filet after five minutes. This will help in baking the fish evenly from all sides. If the temperature is kept steady at 425°F, the fish will take only 20 minutes to cook.
While sea bass is easy to cook, like other fish, it is also easy to over cook. Generally, your fish is ready when the flesh turns from gray and translucent to opaque, and it should easily flake at the touch of a fork. To be sure you can use a thermometer to measure the internal temperature.
To check that the fish is cooked insert a knife between the flesh and the bone. it should come away easily As well as stuffing the fish, you can lay fresh vegetables into the base of the baking tray before adding the sea bass - these should cook at roughly the same rate as the sea bass.