As the weather cools down, I find myself thinking more and more about prolonging summer by escaping to somewhere warm.
Somewhere like Greece where I spent a long birthday weekend with the best mate immersed in history, culture, glorious weather and really fabulous food. I still remember us following the scent of food and weaving through little streets on the hunt for that next good meal. I also remember my first taste of ‘real’ pita bread, of greek salad and of spicy baked fish that just melted in my mouth.
So I more than jumped at the chance when James Villas Holidays asked me to recreate this whole baked sea bass with olives and tahini sauce in their #MyHolidayDish recipe challenge. This recipe was created for James Villas Holidays by the lovely Jo Pratt, whose new book in the Mood for Healthy Food, is full of healthier mouth-watering recipes that you want to make again and again and again.
This recipe is very easy to make. Simply mix together the ingredient, rub them all over the fish and bake for about 25 mins. The result is an absolutely stunning and flavourful baked sea bass that takes you right back to Greece.
https://youtu.be/Vej_JzU1ltE
Here are a few other #MyHolidayDish recipes cooked up by other foodies Pasta with mussels from Coffee and Vanilla and Cypriot-inspired, intensely flavourful halloumi pasta from A Mummy Too.
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Whole Baked Sea Bass with Olives and Tahini Sauce
Ingredients
For the sea bass:
- 2 handfuls pitted Kalamata olives , roughly chopped
- 1 handful fresh oregano roughly chopped , plus extra to serve
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 6 anchovies from a tin finely chopped
- Olive oil
- 1 lemon
- Salt
For the Tahini sauce:
- 6 tbsp Greek yoghurt
- 4 tbsp tahini paste
- Juice of ½ a lemon
- 1 garlic clove minced
Instructions
- Pre-heat the fan assisted oven to 170C / 190C / 375F / gas 5.
- Rinse and pat the fish dry, cut 3 incision in each side and place in a baking tray.
- In a small bowl mix together the olives, half of the oregano, garlic, anchovies and a splash of olive oil to bind.
- Rub the the olive mixture on both sides of the fish and add the tomatoes and remaining oregano to the baking tray.
- Cut the lemon in half and squeeze the juice from one half over the top of the fish. Cut the remaining half into thin slices and place them in the cavity where the sea bass was gutted. Drizzle a generous proportion of olive oil over the fish and tomatoes and season well with salt.
- Bake fish for for 25 minutes for smaller fish or up to 35 minutes for a large fish, or until the flesh is white and firm to touch.
- Whilst the fish is baking mix together all the ingredients for the tahini sauce adding a couple of tablespoons of water to give you a smooth sauce. Season with salt.
- When cooked, scatter with fresh oregano and serve with the tahini sauce to drizzle over.
- Serve with new potatoes or crusty white bread.
Notes
Isabella Wong (Life as a Petite) says
20/09/2015 at 8:35 amI am kind of a bit biased over foods that have olives…this dish looks so tasty! I have never tried tahini sauce actually so this would definitely be a great new dish to try. Thanks for sharing! x
Bintu says
20/09/2015 at 10:28 amIsabella, you can easily leave the olives out and maybe up the tomatoes and anchovies?
Alyssiarose says
20/09/2015 at 9:13 amI can honestly say that I have never eaten Sea Bass, but having seen this recipe I might have to give it a go.
Bintu says
20/09/2015 at 10:26 amHere is to trying new things Alyssiarose.
Erin - Yorkshire Tots says
20/09/2015 at 9:54 amI love sea bass but I’ve never cooked it. I wouldn’t have thought to put it with a Tahini sauce – what a great idea!
Bintu says
20/09/2015 at 10:26 amYes, it is a combination that really works.
Stella Kashmoney says
20/09/2015 at 12:01 pmMy husband loves anything with sea bass. I will try making this dish for him.
Kavey says
20/09/2015 at 2:48 pmLovely dish with all the flavours of holidays in the Med.
Bintu says
23/09/2015 at 6:56 pmIt is isn’t it Kavey? Takes you right there.
Choclette says
20/09/2015 at 5:59 pmOne day I will make it to Greece. Strangely I made that very same tahini yoghurt sauce the other day and it’s super delicious. We had it with halloumi.
Bintu says
23/09/2015 at 7:39 pmOoooh, now that is something for me to try.
tracy says
20/09/2015 at 9:22 pmWhat a gorgeous recipe – it definitely does make me think of holidays in the sunshine!
Akaleistar says
21/09/2015 at 12:49 amThat looks amazing! I’ve never cooked a whole fish before, but this makes me think I should try 🙂
Bintu says
23/09/2015 at 6:45 pmOh this is def one to try Akaleister.
Helen @ Fuss Free Flavours says
21/09/2015 at 8:32 amOh fish with extra anchovies and all that garlic and those olives. How delicious!
Bintu says
23/09/2015 at 6:46 pmExactly Helen. It is perfect.
Rachel says
21/09/2015 at 9:39 amOh wow that Sea Bass looks absolutely amazing, I could eat that right now x
Bintu says
23/09/2015 at 6:50 pm😀
My Life As A Mummy says
21/09/2015 at 9:53 amThis looks really yummy, minus the head of the fish! Heads of fish freak me out! lol!
Laura x x x
Bintu says
23/09/2015 at 6:48 pmYou can definitely ask the fish monger to take the head of first.
Margot @ Coffee & Vanilla says
21/09/2015 at 11:33 amVery interesting recipe Bintu. I don’t think I have ever tried tahini sauce… sounds and looks amazing. And thank you for mentioning my dish as well 🙂
Bintu says
23/09/2015 at 6:49 pmI hope you get to try it Margot.
Glamorous Glutton says
21/09/2015 at 12:57 pmThis looks so good, perfect for summer and as the weather gets a little cooler. Great choice. GG
Bintu says
23/09/2015 at 6:51 pmIt was an easy choice GG.
laura@howtocookgoodfood says
21/09/2015 at 1:30 pmThis dish takes me back to my own holiday, I eat so much fish and always enjoy it so much more eating it in the sunshine. I wish I could eat that now and re-live sunnier places!
Bintu says
23/09/2015 at 6:55 pmYes we definitely need more sunny recipes with the current weather.
Janice (@FarmersgirlCook) says
21/09/2015 at 7:31 pmLove Sea Bass and the Tahini sauce sounds really good, putting this on my ‘to make’ list. What fun to make a holiday dish to remind you of the fun times and great tastes.
Jemma @ Celery and Cupcakes says
22/09/2015 at 5:41 amSeabass is one of my favourite fishes and I love it baked whole like this!
Bintu says
23/09/2015 at 6:49 pm😀
Becca @ Amuse Your Bouche says
24/09/2015 at 10:52 amGosh aren’t you clever, I’ve never attempted something so ambitious! You make it sound easy!
Eb Gargano says
24/09/2015 at 2:04 pmWow! This looks stunning and has so many of my favourite flavours in it: seabass, olives, anchovies, oregano…I am definitely going to have to try this one out!
Michelle Howa says
26/10/2016 at 7:41 pmI mad this last night and it was incredible! And I’m going to use that tahini sauce recipe for everything I can think of forever–I was eating it with a spoon! Thanks!