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Baked Wild Sea Bass

sea bass
An easy, healthy and delicious dish!

Serves 4

Preparation time 10 mins

Cooking time 25 mins

Cost per portion £4.00

Method
1. Pre heat the oven to 200°C
2. Wash the fish then sprinkle some salt all over the outside and inside of the fish.
3. Place the fish inside a large piece of foil paper in a large baking dish and pour the freshly squeezed lemon juice and the soy sauce over both the fish.
4. Cut the ginger, garlic and spring onion into very fine slices and put some of it with the coriander inside the cavity of the fish and scatter the rest over the outside.
5. Wrap the foil over to make a parcel so that the fish are sealed up inside, and put the dish in the oven and bake for approximately 25 minutes. It is essential to not overcook the fish, so check after about 20 minutes to see how much longer the fish will need to stay in the oven. (It is cooked when the fish closest to the bone has become opaque and comes away easily; as soon as it has reached this stage take it out of the oven).
6. Optional – Serve with a bit of chilli oil on the side.

Ingredients
2 sea bass – about 500g each; gutted, cleaned and scaled.
A piece of fresh root ginger, about 1 inch long
2 cloves garlic
Juice of 1 lemon
Salt
4 spring onions
A few sprigs of fresh coriander
2 teaspoons soy sauce
Chilli oil (optional)

Additional information
This recipe hinges on the freshness of the fish and on not overcooking it!

I recently bought 2 wild sea bass weighing 500g each from a market in London for £9 in total, and it was enough to feed four of us – a reasonably priced meal, and definitely cheaper than ordering sea bass in a restaurant! (It usually costs twice as much in supermarkets and double that again in restaurants).

Sea bass is one of the easiest of fishes to cook – if the fish is fresh and cooked to the right degree, you end up with something so soft that it almost melts in your mouth. Many sea bass recipes use a bit of oil or butter, which also work well, but it tastes pretty good without the extra fat.Seeing as there aren’t many main dishes which can be cooked without any added fat it’s worth keeping this one without extra oil or butter. Make sure that the fish is cleaned and gutted by the person you are buying it from – it’s not something you want to be doing yourself at home!

Health Benefits of sea bass and soya sauce
In the Telegraph newspaper on 18/11/09, there was an article about how adding soy sauce to baked fish enhances its omega-3 health benefits. According to the article, baked or boiled fish is a better source than fried fish of omega-3 fatty acids (which have been shown to protect the heart), and adding low salt soy sauce to a fishy meal enhances the benefits further. The researchers studied omega-3 consumption among nearly 200,000 people, as well as the different ways the fish was prepared; their findings were presented to the American Heart Association.

According to Wikipedia, a study done by the National University of Singapore showed that Chinese dark soy sauce contains 10 times the antioxidants of red wine, and can help prevent cardiovascular disease.

Nutrition Information

Nutrition per 100g per portion RDA women RDA men RDA child
Energy 95 kcal 254 kcal 13% 10% 14%
Protein 18 g 48 g 108% 88% 202%
Carbohydrate 0.3 g 0.8 g 0% 0% 0%
Total Sugars 0.2 g 0.5 g 1% 0% 1%
Total Fat* 2.4 g 6.3 g 9% 7% 9%
Saturated Fat* 0.4 g 1.0 g 5% 3% 5%
Mono Unsaturates* 0.6 g 1.5 g
Polyunsaturates* 0.6 g 1.5 g
Fibre* 0.0 g 0.1 g 1% 1% 1%
Salt 0.3 g 0.9 g 15% 15% 22%

* Percentage Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet for an average adult.
Your Daily Values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

Allergens: Fish, Soya

Cost per recipe:£ 16.00
Cost per portion:£4.00