Cooking a whole fish - herb stuffed sea bass

I’ve never been a huge fan of food with a face. I’ll happily enjoy a pulled pork roll but the sight of a poor pig spinning on a stick in the middle of a party has always felt slightly barbaric.

I used to feel a similar way about a whole fish, eyes and all, presented to me on a plate. Which is all really the ultimate contradiction but I think a lot of people feel the same way.

However I’ve gradually become more experimental with food. Just last weekend I found myself stood in my kitchen with a handful of innards that I’d pulled bare-handed from a pigeon (yes it was already dead in case you were wondering, but that’s a story for another day). 5 years ago that would not have been me!

Cooking a whole fish is slightly lower on the scale than that, but equally something I hadn’t done before. I attribute my fish cooking success to two people. My Latvian colleague, who is a big advocate for cooking whole fish rather than spending more money on fillets. And the wonderful Chrissy Teigen, who dedicated a section in her new cookbook ‘Cravings’ to ‘Things That Intimidate People But Shouldn't’. Whole fish is definitely on that list.

After I posted a couple of pictures on Instagram of my fishy experience, a friend messaged me to say how impressive it was. It wasn't something she'd tried before or thought she could. I think phrases like ‘stuffed with fresh herbs’ conjured horrifying images of stuffing your hands inside a fish, guts and all.

In reality it was the opposite of any gory nightmare – I purchased the fish gutted and cleaned from the fish monger (£5 each for a whole large sea bass, which I thought was excellent value) and there is a nice clean slit along the underside of the fish which you just politely place some lemon slices and herbs into and job done.

No guts. No actual stuffing. Just a bit of what we will call ‘gentle placing’.

Furthermore; no skill needed, barely any time to be dedicated. But it is something that *looks* impressive and tastes delicious.

Admittedly the head was still an obstacle for me – not in terms of  preparation but I wasn’t brave enough to eat it. The cheek flesh is supposed to be the most flavoursome part of the fish, and you can also eat the eyes. Next time I might tackle the cheeks but the eyes will probably take another few years for me to master yet.

This recipe for cooking whole sea bass is so simple that I’m not even going to write out a long winded method. Just buy 2 whole sea bass and follow these 3 simple steps à la Chrissy for a fabulous meal for 2:

1. Mince 10 cloves of garlic and mix in a bowl with a teaspoon of crushed chilli flakes, generous pinch of salt and pepper, and a tablespoon of olive oil. Massage all over the fish and inside. (Do not choose this moment to get squeamish about that head – the eyes are not looking at you!)
2. Slice a lemon and place 2 or 3 slices in each slit, along with sprigs of sage, rosemary and thyme (or other fresh herbs of your choice). Now lay the fish on a baking sheet – line with foil if you prefer easy cleaning.
3. Bake in the oven at 200 c / 390 f for 30 minutes

Done! I served with crushed new potatoes (just par boil, add to roasting tray and crush lightly with the back of a spoon. Drizzle with oil, salt and pepper, sprigs of rosemary, and roast for 30 mins alongside the fish) but you can serve with any side of your choice.

I also chopped up a few tomatoes and threw them around the fish whilst it was baking, and steamed a pack of samphire for a few mins.

So wait, you now have a beautifully cooked whole fish but you’re not sure how to fillet it?! Please just check out this uber useful post from the Serious Eats website which takes you on a simple step by step tour of perfectly filleting your fish, pictures and all.