Sea bass baked with potatoes, cherry tomatoes, olives, and capers

To maintain the characteristics of softness and succulence, baked sea bass should be prepared just before cooking; preparing it in advance is not recommended.

Pay attention to the quality of the fish! A fresh fish has:

A lively, convex eye

Bright red gills without mucus

The skin is bright in colour, without discolouration

Scales attached to the skin Bones firmly attached to the flesh.

The meat is compact and elastic: if you press it with your finger, it should sink and then immediately regain its original shape.

The scent of fresh fish is brackish or fishy; when the scents turn to sour smells, the fish was caught a few days before.

Do not cook fish without first preparing it well: once gutted, wash it thoroughly both inside and out and dry it with kitchen paper.

Do not over-season fish: when the fish is of good quality, it is a shame to cover the delicate taste with over-rich seasoning masking the flavour.

Do not cook the fish at a lower temperature than indicated, your fish will “boil” instead of cooking with crispy skin and soft flesh.

Do not overcook fish: if it is a mistake to serve it raw, it is just as much a mistake to serve it overcooked, the meat must retain its tenderness and succulence.

You can also use fish stored in the freezer. Before cooking it, let it defrost in the fridge and dry it very well before seasoning.

To enjoy the softness of the fish, baked sea bass should be eaten freshly cooked. If you have any leftovers, you can keep it in the refrigerator for a day, covered with cling film. Before serving it again, heat it in the oven adding a little extra virgin olive oil.

If you want to keep it for a few more days, even 3 or 4 days, we suggest preparing a quick “carpione” fish:

Cut 50 g of carrots, 50 g of celery and 300 g of onions into julienne strips.

Cook on a very low heat with a little extra virgin olive oil and a little salt until the vegetables are very soft.

Add 100 ml white vinegar and 100 ml white wine, a bay leaf and some peppercorns and let it simmer.

Pour the hot marinade over the leftover fish and keep it covered in the fridge. Perfect also as an appetiser.

You can replace the sea bass with other whole fish of your choice, like the sea bream and dentex for example, preferably not smaller than 700 g to preserve the tenderness of the meat.

Calculate the cooking time according to the size of the fish:

Whole fish weighing around 700 g take 20/25 minutes.

For whole fish weighing about 1 – 1.4 kg, the time is 30/35 minutes.

For whole fish weighing about 2 kg the time is 45/50 minutes, lowering the oven temperature to 180°C: this way the fish has time to cook internally without burning on the outside.

The eye turning white is a good indication of the level of cooking of the fish. In addition, check that the gills turn from red to brown.

Also, check the colour of the meat: if you lift one half of the fish, the colour should no longer be pink.

When filleting cooked fish, the bones should come away from the flesh well and there should not be any traces of blood.

In this recipe, we use typical Mediterranean flavours like cherry tomatoes, Taggiasca olives and capers.

You can also use other types of black olives, always of high quality.

Remember to desalt the capers for at least 15 minutes, depending on their size and degree of saltiness.

If you don’t have these ingredients available, you can opt for another cooking method like cooking the sea bass in salt.