Baked Sea Bass

It’s back to seafood folks. Yesterday I came upon some black sea bass fillets. I was told these were Atlantic sea bass, so I was buying something relatively local and the fish did not make a cross-country journey to get to my table.

Had the weather been better, I would have sought a whole fish to grill but at last, we’re having usual, cold Canadian weather. However, in the first instance of Indian Summer and I’m firein’ up the grill baby!

This dish is taken from a Dave Lieberman episode of Good Deal. Dave tries (and succeeds) in showing viewers how to have great meals on the cheap. I found my fish at an affordable price and the sides were cheap too (rice and steamed rapini).

People, this is a fish dish you have to try. I knew this was going to turn out when I was stirring the bread crumbs with the butter and herbs. The aroma got me high!

It’s a quick dish and although I attacked the recipe a little differently, it still made for a very satisfying weekday meal.

You may view Dave’s approach here but I’ll lay down how I got down with the sea bass.

Baked Sea Bass (for 2)

1 cup of leftover bread
1 tablespoon butter, plus 1/2 stick unsalted butter
2 (6-ounce) sea bass fillets
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 lemon, zested and juiced
Few sprigs thyme, leaves removed
1 large clove of garlic, smashed
1/2 cup fresh parsley leaves

Preheat the oven to 350F

1. Pulse the bread in a food processor to get slightly coarse bread crumbs. Coat a casserole dish just large enough to hold the fillets with 1 tablespoon butter ( I smeared the casserole with my buttered fingers. Place the fillets in the dish and reserve.
2. Melt the remaining 1/2 stick of butter in a large skillet with the smashed garlic. As soon as the butter starts to bubble, turn off the heat and let the garlic infuse the warm butter.
3. Remove the garlic chunks from the butter. Add the bread crumbs and lightly toss until all the butter has been absorbed. Turn the heat off, stir in the parsley, thyme and lemon zest and season to taste, with salt and pepper.
4. Season your fillets with salt and pepper. Squeeze the lemon juice over the fillets. Spread a layer of bread crumb mixture over the top of each fillet and bake for 12 to 15 minutes until bread crumbs are golden brown and fish is cooked through.