A whole black seabream simply roasted until the skin is golden and the flesh pearly, served with a bright fennel, grapefruit, and citrus salad. Fruity olive oil, scallion, sherry vinegar, and a touch of Sichuan pepper extend the marine aroma without masking the fish.
Ingredients
- 800 g Whole fresh black seabream, gutted and scaled
- 1 piece Fresh fennel with green fronds
- 1 piece Pink grapefruit
- 1 piece Unwaxed orange
- 1 piece Unwaxed lemon
- 2 pieces Fresh scallion
- 4 tbsp Fruity extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 tsp Sherry vinegar
- 1 tsp Fennel seeds
- 1 pinch Sichuan pepper
- 1 pinch Sweet pepper or Espelette pepper
- to taste Fine salt
- to taste Fleur de sel
- to taste Freshly ground black pepper
Method
- Take the seabream out of the refrigerator while the oven heats to 210 °C. Dry it very carefully with paper towels, outside and inside the cavity: the skin should be matte, not damp, so it roasts instead of steaming.
- Lightly score the skin on both sides at an angle, without cutting deeply into the flesh. Season inside and out with salt and pepper, then massage with some of the olive oil. Slip a few fennel fronds and a little lemon zest into the cavity to perfume the fish without heavily stuffing it.
- Crush the fennel seeds and Sichuan pepper in a mortar, just enough to open them up. Mix them with the sweet pepper, then scatter the mixture very lightly over the fish skin. The aroma should be present but discreet: aim for an aromatic lift, not a spice crust.
- Place the seabream on a hot baking sheet or in an oiled dish, then put it in the middle of the oven. Roast until the skin is golden in places, the edges of the scores have pulled back, and the flesh near the backbone separates into pearly flakes. If the fish is very thick, extend the cooking in small increments rather than overcooking it all at once.
- While the fish cooks, prepare the salad. Slice the fennel very thinly, ideally with a mandoline, then place it in a bowl of very cold water for a few minutes to make it crisper. Drain and dry it thoroughly: the salad should stay glossy, not waterlogged.
- Cut the supremes from the grapefruit and orange over a bowl to catch their juice. Juice the lemon separately. Keep the segments as whole as possible so they burst in the mouth instead of releasing all their juice into the bowl.
- Whisk the collected citrus juice with the sherry vinegar, lemon juice, and the remaining olive oil. Season lightly with salt and pepper, then taste: the vinaigrette should be tart, fruity, and slightly bitter, but not so sharp that it overwhelms the fish.
- Toss the fennel, citrus supremes, and finely sliced scallion with just enough vinaigrette to coat them. Let stand briefly, long enough for the fennel to soften slightly while staying crisp. Add the fennel fronds at the last moment to preserve their fresh aroma.
- Take the seabream out of the oven and let it rest in its dish for a few minutes. The juices should settle and the skin remain taut. Spoon over the cooking juices without drowning the fish.
- Serve the whole seabream in the center of the dish, with the citrus and fennel salad arranged around it rather than on top. Finish with a drizzle of olive oil, a few grains of fleur de sel, and a little lemon zest. Fillet it at the table to preserve the spirit of a whole fish: simple and spectacular.
Nutrition
Per serving
- Energy
- 873.7 kcal
- Protein
- 84.57 g
- Carbohydrate
- 22.49 g
- Fat
- 52.19 g
- Fibre
- 12.42 g
- Calcium
- 492.48 mg
- Iron
- 2.47 mg
- Magnesium
- 155.65 mg