Moroccan Sea Bass
- 6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 whole sea bass, about 3 pounds, cleaned
- 3 cloves garlic
- 13 cup packed cilantro leaves, plus 10 sprigs cilantro
- 13 cup packed mint leaves, plus 10 sprigs mint
- 1 teaspoon sweet Spanish paprika
- Juice of 1 lemon
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- Use 1/2 tablespoon oil to grease a baking pan large enough to hold fish.
- Rub 1/2 tablespoon oil over outside of fish.
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
- Finely mince garlic by hand or by dropping it through feed tube of running food processor.
- Do same with the packed cilantro and mint leaves.
- Transfer garlic and herbs to a small bowl, and stir in paprika, lemon juice and 2 tablespoons oil.
- Season with salt and pepper.
- Use a sharp knife to cut 3 or 4 slashes about 1/2 inch deep in each side of fish.
- Spoon a scant teaspoon of herb mixture into each slash.
- Place fish in baking pan, and stuff cavity with half the cilantro and mint sprigs.
- Put remaining herb mixture and remaining oil in small saucepan.
- Roast fish about 20 minutes, until flesh in the slashes looks opaque.
- Remove from oven, and let rest 5 minutes.
- Gently heat herb mixture until warm.
- Transfer fish to a serving platter, remove herbs from cavity and garnish platter with remaining cilantro and mint sprigs.
- Serve fish, filleting it as you go and spooning herb mixture over each portion.
extra virgin olive oil, bass, garlic, cilantro, mint, sweet spanish paprika, lemon, salt
Taken from cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/7317 (may not work)