I don’t think I could give you a more simple fish recipe if I tried…..no excuse for not eating more fish with your children (they need the brain food, parents!!).
My mum is from Montenegro and that is where I, my sisters and brother spent every summer when we were young. I could write pages about the phenomenal food with its Venetian and Ottoman influences, but the shining light of all the dishes from this Eastern side of the Adriatic is the stark simplicity of its grilled fish. Montenegrins don’t mess around with loads of different flavours; they let the taste of the fish sing through.
Use your very best extra virgin olive oil to mix with the lemon juice and crushed garlic; it will make a huge difference to flavour of the grilled sea bass.
Miraculous ingredients: extra virgin olive oil, sea bass
Grilled sea bass with lemon, garlic and olive oil
Ingredients
1 lemon
1 garlic clove 50ml extra virgin olive oil
Whole sea bass, scaled and gutted, 1 per person
Olive oil
Salt to season
Method
Rinse the sea bass in cold water and dry thoroughly with kitchen paper.
Make 3 cuts on each side of the fish just to the bone. Use your fingers to generously cover in olive oil and season with salt on both sides.
Lay the sea bass on a wire rack in a baking tray. Place the baking tray 12 centimetres below a very hot grill (turn the grill to its maximum setting). Grill each side for approximately 6 minutes. The skin will start to blister brown and the flesh at each cut will become white and opaque when cooked.
While the sea bass is grilling, mix 50ml of extra virgin olive oil and the juice of 1 lemon with a garlic clove that has been crushed in a garlic press in a small serving jug.
Serve the grilled sea with a drizzle of the flavoured oil and a big green salad.
Preparation time 5 minutes, cooking 12 minutes, 2 adult portions, 2 child portions