Fish Recipe

Roasted sea bass

with pastis and a Camargue rice risotto 

 

Ingredients 4 x 450g/1lb sea bass, scaled olive oil, for brushing salt and freshly ground black pepper large bunch fennel herb 4 tbsp pastis, such as Pernod or Ricard   For the Camargue rice risotto 3 tbsp olive oil 225g/8oz Camargue rice, or risotto rice, such as Arborio or Carnaroli 475ml/16¾fl oz boiling water ½ tsp salt lemon wedges, to garnish drizzle extra virgin olive oil, to garnish

Method
1. Preheat the oven to 220C/425F/Gas 7 or as high as your oven will go.
2. Brush each fish inside and out with olive oil and season inside and out with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Push a small bunch of fennel herb inside the gut cavity of each fish and sprinkle it with a little of the pastis.
3. Spread the remaining fennel herb over a large, oiled baking sheet and place the fish on top. Drizzle the fish with a little more oil and the rest of the pastis and set to one side.
4. For the Camargue rice 'risotto', heat the olive oil in a medium-sized pan, add the rice and fry gently for one minute. Add the boiling water and the salt, bring back to the boil, cover and cook over a low heat for 20 minutes. Then turn off the heat and leave undisturbed for a further five minutes.
5. After the rice has been cooking for ten minutes, put the sea bass into the oven and roast them for 15 minutes.
6. To serve, lift the fish, together with some of the fennel herb, onto four warmed plates. Spoon some of the rice into a lightly oiled rounded mould, such as a non-stick mini pudding basin or ramekin, and press down gently. Turn it out alongside the fish, drizzle a little more extra virgin olive oil around the outside edge of the plate and garnish with lemon wedges.