Sea bass baked in salt recipe

By Rose Prince Published: 11:55AM GMT 16 Feb 2010

Sea bass Photo: ALAMY

The following recipe is for a 3lb fish (just under 1.5kg).

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Serves 4-6

Put 2lb 4oz/1kg of salt into a bowl and mix well with 1 teacup of water. Put about half the wet salt into a roasting dish big enough to accommodate the fish.Preheat the oven to its highest setting.Put three slices of orange and a few fennel seeds inside the gutted fish. Lay the bass on top of the salt and tip the rest of the salt on top. Spread it carefully over the entire fish, patting it down with your hands. If there is any excess water in the dish, spoon it out.Bake the fish for approximately 35-40 minutes, then remove from the oven. The salt will have cooked to a hard crust. To serve the fish, carefully crack the crust using a knife and lift it out. Remove as much of the remaining salt as you possibly can, then lift the skin and cut pieces of the flesh from the upper part. Take out the central bone and cut portions from the lower fillet again taking care that no salt from under the fish goes onto the plate.Serve the sea bass with melted butter, seasoned with a few gratings of orange zest.