Whole Striped Sea Bass Roasted with Rosemary, Thyme, Mint and Lemon

My good friend, Aaron, and I wanted to try cooking a whole fish - a feat neither of us had ever attempted. We were both surprised with how easy it was to create our own sauce and cook up an entire fish. Aaron picked up a beautiful red striped Sea Bass which the fish monger thankfully gutted and scaled for us. We had a plethora of fresh herbs to make our own marinate and while we kept asking each other "Do you think we should do this or this?" the fish came out fantastic! It's quick cooking and quickly consumed. The amount of the herbs you'll want to blend for the marinade depends on the size of your sea bass and how herbalicious you want it to taste. Don't be cautious of making too much because the left over blend tastes great with roasted potatoes or mixed in with scrambled eggs! I'm looking forward to making this again and adding more items to herb medley such as kalamata olives, parsley and or capers.

Ingredients:
1 whole striped sea bass, cleaned, gutted and scaled
1 bunch of rosemary
1 bunch of thyme
1 bunch of mint
Lemon juice
Olive oil
Ground pepper
Sea salt
Red chili flakes
1 lemon, sliced

Directions:
1. In a food processor or blender, puree the rosemary, thyme, and mint with olive oil and lemon juice. Add in chili flakes and ground pepper. Taste and add more of any ingredient as necessary. Process until you have an even blend of ingredients. Set aside.

2. Turn oven on to high broil. Line a pan with tin foil. Carefully make 3 cuts on both sides of the fish. Your knife should hit the bones.

3. Sprinkle sea salt all over both sides of the fish. Spread the herb mixture generously on both sides of the fish making sure to fill the 3 cuts on the sides.

4. Broil the fish for 5 minutes on each side. Turn oven on to 450 and roast for 20 minutes. Remove and let cool for a bit. Serve warm with couscous or over a bed of greens! Garnish with lemon slices.