Roasted Wild Sea Bass Baked on a bed of Potatoes and Wild Mushrooms

9 August 2005

Although there is no contest when it comes to the varieties of fish/shellfish we can get here in the UK compared to what I was used to in Japan, decent fish can be found here too – as long as you don’t mind searching off the beaten track. We can get locally caught wild sea bass on a good day and this dish (a recipe from Jamie Oliver’s old book) has been my favourite since I came here. No mucking about, simply roast with mushrooms and potatoes – luckily I had some fresh wild mushrooms this time (I’m particularly partial to chanterelles and black trumpets), but you can use dried if fresh aren’t available.

First, roast some sliced potatoes with a little olive oil in a baking tray for 15 minutes at about 220-230 Centigrade. Meanwhile, slash the fillets half way through their thickness and stuff the cuts with chopped herbs (basil, flat parsley, thyme etc). Fry mushrooms in a pan with a little chopped garlic and butter. Squeeze over some lemon juice and scatter the mushrooms over the potatoes. Place the fish on top and bake for about 15 minutes in the oven, depending on how thick the fillets are. Serve with salsa verde.

Yes, I love salsa verde – it goes really well with any roasted meat/fish. Try to use it all up the same day as it doesn’t keep long!

Salsa Verde

serves 4

1 clove of garlic
1 small handful of capers
1 small handful of pickled gherkins
3 anchovy fillets
1 bunch of basil leaves
1 large handfuls of flat-leaf parsley leaves
1 small handful of mint leaves
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
50 ml olive oil

Finely chop all the ingredients. Add the mustard and red wine vinegar, then stir in good olive oil. Season with salt and black pepper.
 

Food - Savoury        18 comments    Permalink

  • hi, the salsa verde does sound good, particularly when it doesn’t contain coriander leaves which I least care for. gotta try this one one of these days... BTW レイアウトが変わりましたね？（今まではうちのパソコンで見ると右列が下のほうにいってたのー）

    Posted by chika | 10 August 2005 #

  • Sounds like the perfect light summer dish! I haven’t done anything with fish for some weeks, thanks for the inspiration, Keiko :)

    Posted by Nicky | 10 August 2005 #

  • hi keiko, that looks fantastic - love wild mushrooms too (porcini and morels especially). serving the roasted seabass with salsa verde is simply genius - sounds fabulously delicious! cheers,j

    Posted by Joycelyn | 10 August 2005 #

  • I’ve been trying to avoid turning on my oven lately (today’s high is 32 degrees and a humidex of 45), but I’m truly tempted by this one. Nicky posted a great dumpling recipe on their site, maybe I can do the fish first, then the dumplings, and only turn the oven on once! I love the addition of the salsa verde to brighten the flavours of a roasted dish.

    Posted by tara | 10 August 2005 #

  • Oh Keiko, this sounds lovely. You’ll have to let me know where you get your seafood, as I’m ashamed to admit we haven’t really had any since we’ve been here! I just haven’t been blown away by the selection at Sainsbury’s or Tesco, and haven’t traveled further afield enough to bump into any gems.

    Posted by Moira | 10 August 2005 #

  • oishiiso! As always, it look delicious. : )

    Posted by Emi | 10 August 2005 #

  • Hi, Keiko, my local newspaper, The Santa Cruz Sentinel wrote a piece about my small farms blog today, and included mention of you. (She asked which blogs I like best.)

    The article is linked below.

    Enjoy!

    Posted by Tana | 10 August 2005 #

  • Hi Keiko, Your food blog is pretty well the first one I have read and its just fantastic. Your enthusiasm just shines. I live on the suffolk norfolk border so hope to read more about your local finds. Thank you for all the lovely photos and inspiration. I’m waiting until after our village harvest breakfst to turn my aga back on, and to really cook again - until then I try to enjoy the pleasures of as many raw foods as possible.

    Posted by jo | 10 August 2005 #

  • Hi Keiko, you beat me to this recipe. ;) I’ve been eyeing this for quite sometime but reserving it til I get my hands on some really fresh fish. Oh when can that be ...

    Posted by celiaK | 11 August 2005 #

  • I did some sea bass just the other day, mine wasn’t half as pretty though...lovely pics as always Keiko.

    Posted by Monkey Gland | 11 August 2005 #

  • A coincidence or what? We’ve been eating a lot of fish dinners lately... and I love salsa verde!

    Just stopped by for a quick peek... sent you an email.

    Posted by rowena | 11 August 2005 #

  • Salsa verde! That sounds really nice. My boyfriend does a lot of roasted stuff. Perhaps I should tell him that.

    Posted by yuki | 12 August 2005 #

  • One would think that the UK, being on an island and all, would have plenty of access to fish. Wow, that is a gorgeous food shot, as always.

    Posted by Smoove D | 15 August 2005 #

  • Hi Keiko, this recipe looks fantastic - I’m always looking for good fish recipes! It is strange, isn’t it, how comparatively little fresh seafood you can get in the UK (and how pricey it is). Whenever I’m home in Seattle I can’t stop marveling at how much fish and seafood there is to be found everywhere. *Sigh*...

    Posted by melissa | 15 August 2005 #

  • Yum

    I have always meant to try this recipe, it looks fab like always!

    Posted by clare eats | 15 August 2005 #

  • Hi there,

    Chika - well, I didn’t change the layout, I just fixed it - I didn’t realise it wasn’t working in IE Win, I have to remember that that is what the majority of people are using... why don’t you try firefox? :)

    Nicky - I wouldn’t mind eating fish/seafood every day if we could get hold of good fish (which we can’t very often here...)

    Joycelyn - thanks, I love porcini and morels too but I think something milder might work better for this recipe.

    Tara - I hope you’ve been coping with the heat - in the UK, it seems like the summer has gone already so I can use my oven as much as I want...

    Moira - I’m not being a fish elitist or anything, but I don’t buy fish at supermarkets... I always try to buy at farmer’s market, I’m sure you can get decent fish from the East coast around Cambridge.

    Emi - thank you for your kind words :)

    Tana - thanks very much for the link, I enjoyed reading it - I think you are right that I wouldn’t be able to do these kind of things if I had a toddler around though...!

    Jo - I’m glad to hear from a fellow East Anglian ;) You kitchen must be a lovely with the Aga, I’ve been dreaming of it...

    Celia - I’m sure you can get good fish easier there than here, I’d like to visit Billingsgate some time, have you been there?

    Monkey Gland - I’m sure your sea bass was very pretty as well as tasty ;)

    Rowena - yes, salsa verde is great!

    Yuki - I have a feeling that your boyfriend does more cooking than you do, is that right? (and if that’s the case, I’m jealous)

    Smoove D - you are absolutely right, but we just can’t get it - it all seems to get sold to Europe.

    Melissa - I know exactly how you feel (even more so if you are from Seattle), I believe you can get better/cheaper fish in Scotland though - we enjoyed really good seafood when we went there.

    Clare - it’s so easy and you just need good ingredients!

    Posted by keiko | 17 August 2005 #

  • this is a fantastic dish, I’ve done it a couple of times, and again tonight - can’t wait!!!!

    Posted by sarah | 25 October 2005 #

  • Hi Sarah - I’m glad you like this dish too - sea bass has been my favourite fish since I came to the UK.

    Posted by keiko | 31 October 2005 #

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