The sunshine is starting to hit Gibraltar and having recently move, I’m now the proud owner of a balcony which gets plenty of afternoon sun. With the weather, I can’t think of better food to eat than a light and fresh Mediterranean flavours. Sea bass is one of my favourite fish – and roasting it whole is always a treat. I stuffed the cavity with a mix of herbs & lemon and covered it with olive oil and seasoning. Served with crispy, garlicy broccoli & plain baby potatoes, along a fresh olive oli & lemon dressing. This is quite fuss free to prepare and you can enjoy it as a lazy lunch/dinner. I got the inspiration from a recipe by Irini Tzozoglou and reminded me of some delicious meals I’ve had in Bulgaria as well as Greece! My version is a little simpler but if you want to go all out Irini’s recipe is on the bottom of the post!

More with sea bass: Herb-Marinated Grilled Sea Bass | Sea bass with potato and tomato bake

Roasted sea bass with olive oil & lemon dressing, crispy broccoli and baby potatoes

Serves 3/4 | Prep 20 mins | Cook 20 mins
Easy | Gluten and Dairy Free

You’ll need:

FOR THE FISH

1 lemon, sliced;
a bunch of fresh herbs (flat-leaf parsley, dill, basil)
2 prepared and cleaned sea bass, weighing 600g-750g each
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

FOR THE BROCCOLI & POTATOES

500g broccoli, separated into flourets
12 baby potatoes
extra virgin olive oil, for sprinkling
6 garlic cloves, finely sliced

FOR THE LEMON AND OLIVE OIL EMULSION

juice and zest of 1 unwaxed lemon
75ml extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp finely chopped fresh dill

Preheat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Place the fresh herbs and slices of lemon in the fish cavities, sprinkle salt, pepper and oil over the top then rub it in to coat the fish all over. Slash the skin twice, then place in an ovenproof dish and bake for 17 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook the broccoli and potatoes. Bring two pots of salted water to the boil. When boiled add the potatoes to one and cook for about 15 mins until cooked through. Meanwhile, add the broccoli to the other pan and cook for 3 minutes. Leave to cool while everything else is cooking. About 5 minutes before serving, heat some olive oil in a pan. Add the garlic and broccoli, season well and stir fry over a high heat for a few minutes until the broccoli and garlic are a little charred.

To make the emulsion, mix the olive oil, lemon juice and dill with a little salt. Serve the fish alongside the veg and with plenty of the dressing!

Original recipe by Irini Tzotzoglou available online here.