Fish Baked in Salt with Thyme and rosemary with Vegan Pesto
Don’t be intimidated by the salt crust, as this is a very simple way to cook a whole Sea Bass, and this method truly underlines the clean fresh taste of it’s flesh. This is a really popular cooking method in Tuscany, but I learned the real technique of cooking it by watching the British Chef James Martin. Its really elegant and pleases almost every palette.
Healthy/Easy
Serves 2.
- One whole sea bass, gutted
- 2 lemons
- four small containers of coarse sea salt
- one bunch of thyme and rosemary chopped
- 3 egg whites
- salt and pepper
- 2 tablespoons vegan pesto (see recipe below)
- 4 garlic cloves
- 2 chilis
- one shallot
Preheat oven to 200 degrees.
First line a baking tray with foil. Pour all of your salt into a mixing bowl with the herbs. In another bowl, beat egg whites until foaming. Pour into salt and blend with your hands. Season inside of fish and put inside one rosemary stalk and sliced lemon. Make a salt bed and place fish on top. Then cover completely the fish from head to tail in a large mound. Bake in oven for 45 minutes. When you take it out of the oven, take a bread knife and hit the salt crust so it cracks open. You can pull the flesh easily from the bones, discarding the skin.
While the fish is baking make your vegan pesto and gently fry your garlic, chillis, and shallots in one cup of olive oil, separately. Drain onto paper towels and salt.
When you are ready to serve, put a couple of tablespoons of pesto across fish and sprinkle the chilli and garlic/shallots on top with some sliced lemon wedges. A dribble of olive oil over the dish to complete.
Vegan Pesto
- ½ cup pine nuts
- ½ olive oil
- Handful each of parsley and basil
- 2 cloves garlic
- salt and pepper
- one lemon squeezed plus its zest
Add all ingredients into food processor except oil. While still spinning, slowly add the oil. Keeps for six weeks in the fridge if you top with olive oil.
