So excited to have been able to try this dish out last night – with success!

I used sea bass simply because it is a tasty fish and it is not too large that you had to use a cookie tray or something bigger to bake it in. It also meant I could steam bake other seafood dishes in the same oven albeit for a shorter time.

Cracking the salt dough and exposing the fish makes a ‘OOOOhhh’ entrance to your dish.

Ingredients:

2 medium sized sea bass, scales & skin on, about 400-500g (1 lb) each

1 kg plain salt (optional – kosher)

1/2 cup plain water

sprigs of fresh thyme & rosemary

Method:

• Clean the fish, remove guts (if any) and pat dry.
• Chop the thyme & rosemary, leaves & stalks & throw in a mixing bowl together with the salt.
• Line a baking dish with baking or parchment paper. Make sure the dish is big enough to hold the fish.
• Add the water to the salt and mix till it comes together like wet sand.
• Layer some of the salt onto the parchment paper.
• Place the fish on top of the salt.
• Cover the fish with the rest of the salt, making sure the fish is completely covered.
• Bake in a preheated oven of 200ºC (400ºF) Convection or Fan heat. This helps to ensure an even distribution of heat in the oven for cooking. Bake for 30 minutes.
• Remove from oven & crack open the salt dough. The dough should lift off the skin.
• You can either serve from the dish or remove the pieces of cooked fish onto a separate serving plate.