Sea bass in herb and sea salt crust is characterized by a unique taste and unmistakable aroma of spices of Mediterranean cuisine. Discover the new recipe of chef Giorgio Locatelli which following the recipe and instructions you can prepare at home.
Preheat the oven to 240 C. Soak the sultanas in warm water for half an hour or until they plumped up. Drain and reserve. Toast the pine nuts for 5 minutes in the oven at 180oC until golden. Mix the herbs together, put sea salt into a food processor and crack it a little, then add the herbs and blitz until the herbs are very finely chopped. Using a mixer add the flour, eggs white and the salt and herb mixture to a green dough. If it feels too hard add a little water, which should help to loosen it . Wrap the dough in cling film and leave to rest for half an hour. Roll the dough out to about 3 mm thick. You need to cut this into
Roll the dough out to about 3 mm thick. You need to cut this into 8 rough squares of dough -4 to go beneath the fillet (make these about 2 cm bigger all round than the fish) and another 4 to go over the top of each fillet to enclose them completely (these top squares will need to be about 3 cm bigger all round than the fish). Each fillet will be slightly different, so use them as a guide when you are cutting out your dough.
Lay out the rectangle of crust that will go underneath the fish and place a fillet on top skin side upwards without seasoning but spreading a little bit of olive oil on top of the skin. Brush the edges with egg wash and put the bigger rectangle on top sealing tightly. Trim the edges neatly with a knife. Brush with more egg yolk on top of the crust.
Line a flat ovenproof tray with baking paper, put the sea bass parcel on it and place in the preheated oven. The length of cooking time will depend entirely on the thickness of the fish, it can be between 10-14 minutes. Take the sea bass out and, with a sharp knife, cut around three sides, so you can lift the crust like a lid, and check the fish inside.
When the sea bass is ready, take it out of the oven and leave it in its crust, while you warm up the Scarola in a saucepan with the olive oil, sultanas, and pine nuts without seasoning. Arrange the Scarola in the middle of the plate with the sultanas and pine nuts. The fish will be served at the table together with the balsamic and olive oil.