- 1 sea bass, scaled and gutted (about 1.4 kg/3lb 2oz)
- 1 bunch fresh thyme
- 4 free-range egg whites
- 300g/11oz sea salt
- 1 lemon, juiced
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 large bulb fennel, thinly sliced
- 1 tbsp chopped dill
- 1 orange, juice only
- 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 bunch rocket
- ½ bulb garlic
- 300ml/11fl oz whipping cream
- 500g/1lb King Edward potatoes, cooked in a pan of boiling salted water until tender, drained and mashed
- 75g/3oz unsalted butter
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Preheat the oven to 200C/390F/Gas 6.
- Dry the scaled, gutted fish with kitchen paper. Stuff the body cavity with the thyme.
- Whisk the egg whites in a bowl until soft peaks form when the whisk is removed. Fold the salt into the egg whites.
- Line a baking sheet or ovenproof serving dish with greaseproof paper and spread one-third of the egg white mixture over the base.
- Lay the sea bass on top of the egg white mixture, and then spoon over the remaining mix to cover the fish completely.
- Bake the sea bass in the oven for 30-35 minutes, until the salt crust is crisp.
- Remove the dish from the oven. Break the salt crust with a palette knife. Using a pastry brush, remove the salt crystals from the surface of the fish and from around the fish.
- Squeeze over the lemon juice and drizzle with olive oil.
- For the fennel salad, place the fennel, dill, orange juice and olive oil into a bowl and mix together.
- Leave to stand for about ten minutes. Just before serving, add the rocket and mix to coat the rocket leaves.
- For the garlic mash, place the garlic and cream into a saucepan and bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer until the cream is reduced by half.
- Remove the garlic bulb from the pan, then mix in the mashed potatoes and stir well to combine.
- Add the butter and season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
- To serve, place a spoonful of mash onto each serving plate along with a little of the salad and a quarter of the sea bass for each person.