roasted sea bass, whole.

1. Pick your fish: Always hand pick your fish from a trusted fish market. 1 – 2 pounds per fish is perfect for one person. Look for the clear eyed, red gills ones with silky skin with most of the scales intact.

2. Do not name your fish.

3. Choose your cut: when you have the fish cleaned, you can choose to have it “whole with bones in, head and tail on” which add to the flavor; a “butterfly cut with head and tail on”  takes out the bones but still allows you to still serve the fish whole; “fillet” only gives you the flesh, but you can choose to keep the head and tail on the side if you decide to make a soup broth. I like butterfly cut with head and tail on.

4. Seasoning: olive oil brush on the skin and cavity. Rub coarse sea salt and black pepper. Fill the cavity with thin slices of lemon, garlic, a few branches of rosemary and thyme.Close it up. Cover the eye with a slice of lemon. Sprinkle some more sea salt on the top.

5. Roast: 450F for 12 minutes. 15 minutes if you are cooking two fish.

Enjoy.