Solent sea bass baked in samphire and kelp
Stokes Bay, Portsmouth Harbour — spring tides to 2.7m bring the bass
Catch and season
Local boatmen and shorecasters on the Solent target bass (sea bass, Dicentrarchus labrax) from May to October when fish push into gullies and kelp beds. Shorecasters favour dawn and dusk tides; boatmen work the ebb off the Bramble Bank and around Hayling Island. A one to two kilo bass is ideal for baking.
Ingredients
One whole sea bass, scaled and gutted; a handful of samphire (Salicornia), washed; a few fronds of kelp (dried Laminaria rehydrated or fresh if available); 30ml olive oil; 25g butter; 1 lemon; sea salt and cracked black pepper; a sprig of thyme.
Method
Preheat oven to 200°C (fan 180°C). Score the fish, season inside and out. Line an ovenproof dish with kelp, bed the fish on top, tuck samphire into the cavity and along the sides. Dot butter, drizzle oil, squeeze half a lemon, scatter thyme. Roast 18–22 minutes until flesh flakes at the bone. Rest briefly on foil, carve with a sharp filleting knife and serve with charred samphire and a squeeze of lemon.
Boatmen's notes
Samphire loves a quick flash; overcooking turns it limp. Kelp gives a briny backbone—use sparingly. The best bass has bright eyes and firm flesh. An ovenproof dish large enough for the fish keeps the juices and sea flavours together.
Recommended: rectangular baking dish