Oven baked sea bass

[Ishbel]

Foil-wrapped Baked Sea Bass with Buerre Blanc

Serves 4


2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 x 800g sea bass, scaled, cleaned, heads removed
30g butter, melted
Juice of 1 large lemon
Freshly ground salt and pepper, to taste

Beurre blanc sauce
2 shallots, very finely chopped
100ml dry white wine
50ml white wine vinegar
170g unsalted butter,diced

Preheat the oven to 220C/gas mark 7.
Put the shallots, wine and vinegar in as mall saucepan, over a low heat. Simmer for 10 minutes or until reduced to 1 tbsp of liquid. Set aside.

Take two large sheets of kitchen foil and brush the centre of each with the olive oil. Put one bass on each sheet.
Combine the melted butter and lemon juice. Rub half this mixture over both fish, then spoon the remainder into their cavities. Lightly season. Bring the foil up over the fish and crumple the edges to make baggy but airtight parcels. Put on a baking sheet. Bake in the centre of the oven for 15 minutes.
When the fish is cooked, open the parcels.Remove the skin Re-wrap and keep warm while you finish the sauce.

When ready to serve, gently reheat the wine mix until warm, not hot. Over a gentle heat, briskly whisk in the butter, a piece at a time, so it forms an emulsion. Continue until all the butter is used and you have a thinnish sauce. Take off the heat and season.

To serve, lift the first fillet from each fish, pull away the spine and remove the second fillet beneath. Serve with the beurre blanc and new potatoes.

[marmalady]

TY, Ishbel - bass is one of my faves!


When making a buerre blanc, have you ever tried adding a little cream - maybe just a tablespoon or so for your amounts - it really helps 'stabilize' the sauce, particularly if you're having to hold it for a while.

[Ishbel]

My husband is the great fish lover in our family - so I try to vary the species, so that I don't get bored (he'd NEVER get bored with fish, he'd eat it every meal if he could!)

No, I haven't tried the cream idea - but I'll give it a go next time I'm making a beurre blanc. Thanks for the tip. 8)