Baked Fillet of Sea Bass with cherry tomato sauce

The sea bass is a silvery white fish that is common in the Mediterranean and Black Seas. Usually it is small to medium sized, but you can find larger specimens: it is possible to find 1 metre long sea bass of about 10 kg in weight. The breeding season is from January to March; its flesh is particularly delicate, white and compact, with almost no fat. Together with bream, the various types of sea bass are the fish species most commonly seen on Italian dining tables and are appealing even to children. When you buy a sea bass remember that the gills should be bright and silvery, the eyes bright and the scales compact and difficult to remove. Only in this case will your fish be really fresh. Remember, too, that in the fish stalls at the supermarket or at the fishmongers, can find both farmed and wild varieties. If you buy a farmed fish, remember that it is better to have been reared in local waters, because elsewhere it’s possible that highly intensive farming methods have been used, which jeopardizes the quality of the meat. And now …. have you bought a wonderful sea bass in anticipation of a special dinner party? Follow my advice: if you want to impress your dinner guests with an elegant and tasty main course, then I recommend you try this baked sea bass fillet with cherry tomato sauce.

Clean and fillet the sea bass. Remove all the bones; skin the fillets leaving only the part at the tail. Place the fillets on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, brush with oil and add a few sprigs of rosemary. Bake at 170°C for 13 minutes. Meanwhile make the sauce: cut the cherry tomatoes into quarters and sauté in a pan with the oil, capers and herbs. Add sugar and salt to taste. Remove from the heat when the sauce starts to become thicker. Serve the fillet of sea bass with the cherry tomato sauce on the side.