Lubina a la Sal

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Large rimmed baking tray, about 40 by 30cm
• •Large mixing bowl
• •Baking parchment
• •Instant-read thermometer
• •Short serrated knife and heavy spoon
• •Stiff pastry brush
• •Fish slice or wide spatula

Instructions

1. 1

   Heat and prepare

   Set a rack in the middle of the oven and heat it to 200°C conventional or 180°C fan. Check that the sea bass has been gutted and that every scale remains in place. If the fishmonger used a belly incision, it should be small; wipe the cavity clean with damp kitchen paper, dry it thoroughly, and press the cut edges closed. Pat the outside dry as well.

   Don't wash the fish under a running tap. It adds moisture where you don't need it and splashes the sink. A careful wipe and a thorough drying are enough.
2. 2

   Dampen the salt

   Put the coarse salt in a large bowl. Pour in 100ml of the water and mix with both hands until the salt resembles damp beach sand. Squeeze a handful: it should hold its shape without dripping. Add the remaining 25ml only if it crumbles. Different salts arrive with different amounts of moisture, so measure the water, then let the handful tell you when to stop.

3. 3

   Build the crust

   Line a large rimmed baking tray with baking parchment. Spread one third of the damp salt into a bed about 1cm thick and slightly larger than the fish. Lay the bass on its side, positioning any belly incision downward. Pack the remaining salt firmly over the entire body from the gill plate to the base of the tail, making an even layer at least 1cm thick. The head and tail fin may remain visible. Press the top crust into the bottom bed so there are no open seams.

4. 4

   Bake by weight

   Bake the 1.2 to 1.4kg fish for 30 minutes, without opening the oven. Then make one narrow hole through the crust just behind the head and insert an instant-read thermometer into the thickest flesh without touching the backbone. It should register 63°C. If it is lower, return the fish to the oven for 3 to 5 minutes and test through the same hole. The shell will be firm and dry, with lightly golden patches at its edges.

   Time alone is a rough guide because a short, thick bass cooks more slowly than a long, slender one of the same weight. One small thermometer hole costs the dish nothing and saves the fish from guesswork. Pésalo, no lo adivines.
5. 5

   Rest and open

   Take the tray from the oven and leave the fish sealed for 5 minutes. Trace around the crust with a short serrated knife, then tap it with the back of a heavy spoon until it splits into large slabs. Lift those slabs away rather than crushing them over the fish. Use a dry pastry brush to remove every loose grain of salt before touching the skin.

6. 6

   Lift the fillets

   Peel away the upper skin; it should come free in broad pieces with the scales attached. Lift the two upper fillets onto a warm platter, remove the head and backbone in one piece, then lift the lower fillets. Check carefully for pin bones. Serve at once, with no additional salt. A little extra virgin olive oil and lemon may be offered at the table, but taste the fish first. Clean sea bass needs very little company.

Chef Tips

• •Buy the fish whole from a counter with good turnover. Look for clear, rounded eyes, bright red gills before cleaning, firm flesh, and a clean smell of the sea. The salt crust protects moisture, not staleness.
• •Branzino and European sea bass are lubina under other market names. If neither is available, use a whole dorada, gilt-head bream, of the same weight. Dorada is firmer and richer, but it belongs naturally to this Levante method.
• •Use the plainest coarse sea salt you can buy, sal gruesa, with no flavorings added. Fine table salt packs too densely and finds its way into small openings. The crust is discarded, so this is no place for an expensive finishing salt.
• •Leave the scales on. Say it twice at the fish counter if you must. Once the fish has been scaled, the salt can sit directly against thin skin and the flesh beneath may turn unpleasantly salty.
• •Serve with boiled new potatoes or a simple salad of good tomato when tomatoes are in season. The fish is the centre of the plate; it doesn't need a sauce laid over it.
• •A dry Valencian white made from Merseguera suits the sweet, clean flesh. Any fresh, unoaked white with good acidity will do if that bottle doesn't travel to where you are.
• •Remove leftovers from the crust promptly. Refrigerate them in a covered container within 2 hours and eat within 2 days, preferably cold or only gently warmed. Salt left against the fish continues to draw out moisture.

Advance Preparation

• •Have the fish cleaned up to 12 hours ahead, keeping the scales and skin intact. Store it covered in the coldest part of the refrigerator at 4°C or below, then pat it dry before building the crust.
• •Measure the salt and water and line the tray earlier in the day, but don't damp the salt or encase the fish until the oven is heating. A wet crust left standing begins to dissolve against the fish.
• •Warm the serving platter and prepare the lemon up to 15 minutes before the fish is ready. The salt shell should be opened only after its 5-minute rest, just before serving.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 160g)