Sea Bass with Fennel, Lime & Olives
Oftentimes, I spend more time looking for the English equivalent of some Italian food terms in the internet than cooking the dish itself. Everyone has his own opinion and declares it as a fact that it gets frustrating to have more than one word to rely on. I am almost certain that spigola is sea bass in English.
I occupied my time the past days switching our clothes from winter to spring/summer. It was a relief to touch the fabrics of linen and cotton again while I put away the wool and thick clothes. Just by the touch of the fabrics exhilarates me. New colors are popping out in the garden everyday. All the wonderful spring fruit I had been waiting for are coming out in the fruit stands. I don't think I need do state that I love spring the most. After being cooped up indoors throughout winter, it is a relief to enjoy outdoors again.
Eating under the olive trees, the first forkful of this
fish sends you to summer instantly. The ingredients are fresh and
light. It's deliciously summery. I remember seeing an advertisement
years ago of a product that I don't remember anymore. It was in full
winter and with this product, everyone was imagining summer. I thought
it was lame. Aha, I don't think it's the first advertisement with that
storyline. In a nutshell, I bit my words because I also imagined
full-blown summer in the beach while I was eating this.
I didn't need to stay in
the kitchen while I was cooking this which is fundamental when the time
comes it becomes unbearably hot and you don't want to die of the heat
while cooking. At the peak of summer, I usually abandon my kitchen and
say arrivederci until the promise of a temperature drop again.
I
first cooked this with a couple of limes then I used lemons the second
time around when I took the photos. The limes give much better flavor
than the lemons.
Sea Bass with Fennel, Lime & Olives
Ingredients:Serves 2
- 2 sea bass (or any similar fish)
- 2 fennel bulbs, coarsely chopped
- handful of green olives, pitted
- 2 untreated limes, quartered (or lemons but limes give a better flavor)
- handful of cherry tomatoes, halved
- salt
- extra virgin olive oil
- Put all the ingredients together in a baking pan. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil & sprinkle with salt.
- Bake in the pre-heated oven at 180°C for 45 minutes (or more, depending on the size of the fish).
- When the fish is cooked, clean it by separating the meat from the bones and skin.
- Transfer the fish to the plates with the vegetables and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil before serving.