Roasted Sea Bass with Cherry Tomatoes and Taggiasca Olives

La storia di questo piatto

This is Liguria distilled onto a single plate — a coastline where fishing boats still leave before dawn and olive groves climb the cliffs above the sea, roots tangled in salt air. The branzino carries the memory of cold, clear water; the Taggiasca olives carry centuries of terraced hillside patience.

Ingredienti

• 1 piece Whole sea bass
• 250 g Cherry tomatoes
• 100 g Taggiasca olives
• 60 ml Extra virgin olive oil
• 1 bunch Fresh basil
• 1 piece Lemon
• 2 cloves Garlic
• 5 g Sea salt
• 2 g Black pepper

Preparazione

1. Hold the sea bass under a gentle stream of cold running water and clean out the belly thoroughly, removing every trace of the innards: nothing should remain, otherwise it will compromise the flavor. Pat it dry with paper towels, dabbing gently without rubbing, because the skin needs to stay intact. Then, using a sharp knife, make two or three diagonal cuts across the skin on each side, not too deep: this is how the seasoning penetrates right into the flesh and the fish truly becomes infused with flavor.
2. Line your baking dish with parchment paper, which will ensure you don't lose a single precious drop of that delicious pan sauce. Scatter the whole cherry tomatoes, garlic cloves crushed with the heel of your hand, and Taggiasca olives all across the bottom, as if creating a soft, fragrant bed. Try to spread them out evenly so that every corner of the dish releases its aroma during cooking.
3. Place the sea bass on top of this bed of tomatoes, garlic, and olives, which will keep it elevated and perfumed from below. Season generously both inside the cavity and all over the outside skin—don't hold back—because a whole fish absorbs seasoning beautifully. Then drizzle good quality oil in a thin stream over everything, both the fish and the vegetables together: it should shimmer, and that's the secret that gives you golden skin and a flavorful pan sauce.
4. Place in a 200°C oven and let it cook for 20-25 minutes: you'll know it's ready when the skin has slightly crisped at the places where you made your cuts and the flesh, when tested with a fork near the backbone, flakes away tender and opaque, no longer translucent. While the oven does its work, chop the basil leaves with a knife and let them rest in a small glass with the remaining oil: this way the flavors marry slowly together, and when you pour it over the fish it will already be a concentrated aromatic essence ready to release all its fragrance.
5. Remove the sea bass from the oven and pour the fragrant basil oil over it while still hot: the heat will coax out every bit of its aroma. Add a squeeze of fresh lemon juice, which awakens the flavors and cuts through the richness on the palate, and taste the pan sauce at the bottom before bringing it to the table, adjusting the salt if needed. Serve the baking dish as it is, still hot, with slices of toasted bread ready to soak up every drop of that sauce, which is truly the most delicious part of the entire dish.