This is a traditional Spanish way to cook fish. At first glance, this recipe may seem very complicated and you may also think that the fish will be too salty – after all fish does not need much salt. However prepare to be surprised because the salt crust acts to trap the flavours in the fish as it cooks and the Sea bass becomes juicy and flavoursome. Although it does take time to prepare, it is not difficult and is actually great fun to do.
You will need an ovenproof baking dish large enough to fit your sea bass and small enough to fit in your oven. And a hammer! You can not believe how hard the salt shell becomes once mixed with the egg.
PrintSalt Crusted Baked Sea Bass
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 50 mins
- Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
- Cuisine: Fish
Ingredients
- 1 whole Sea Bass
- cooking salt – approx twice the weight of the fish
- 1 egg white
- 1 lemon, sliced
- a handfull of rosemary, chopped
- a handfull of fresh oregano, chopped
- a handfull of thyme, chopped
Instructions
- Your fish must be whole. Scaled and gutted but otherwise intact.
- Open a cavity in the Sea Bass and place the lemon slices and half of the herbs inside the fish. Reserve the remaining herbs to mix with the salt.
- Prepare the salt mixture by mixing it with the egg white and the rest of herbs. You’ll need to get your hands dirty for this.
- In the baking tray place half of the salt mixture. Put the Sea Bass on top and cover it with the remaining salt. You need to ensure the fish is fully covered.
- Now your fish is ready for the oven. Cooking time depends on the size of your fish and your oven. A good indication though will be when the salt acquires a nice golden hue. Remove your fish from the oven and then break out your hammer! Don’t be shy, but we would recommend placing a tea towel over the fish so that you don’t have bits of salt crust flying around the kitchen.
- Once you’ve broken through the crust, remove the skin from the fish and carefully separate from the bones. Put everything on a plate and then serve.
