Roasted Sea Bass with tapenade and cherry tomatoes.

I have seen two kinds of people. Those who hate the sea bass and those who...well don't. I definitely belong to the second group. For me the sea bass works perfectly. Simply because it has such a mild and clear taste (in the sea bass haters group the same would be called tasteless :)) that it takes the flavour of  any sauce, herb, or a marinade so beautifully.

Now that I have established my love for the bass. Let me also share my love for the olives. Sara eats the spanish green ones by the cupful and I have a soft corner for the kalamata. It used to surprise me when at two she would fill her little pink bowl with green olives and finish them in no time. They are pretty acidic and sharp after all.

Apparently the girl loves intense flavours and who am I to complain. Oh and just so you know here I am droning about her love for olives but she completely rejected this tapenade and requested for olives and peanuts and cherry tomatoes ALL separately in the three compartments of her plate. Point noted. The girl doesn't like them combined AT ALL, she said.

Roasted Sea Bass with tapenade and cherry tomatoes.

Feeds two hungry parents and a little girl.

Ingredients:

3 thick sea bass fillets cut into bite sized pieces

1 cup cherry tomatoes cut into halves

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 cup tapenade

Juice of a lemon

Freshly ground black pepper

Salt to taste

Fresh thyme and toasted peanuts to finish

For the tapenade:

1/2 cup kalamata olives, pitted
1/2 cup Spanish green olives, pitted
1/2 cup walnuts
4 cloves of garlic (reduce the garlic if you don't like it very pungent)
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
Add anchovies,capers, pinenuts, if you'd like to.

Instructions: 

1. For the tapenade: Combine all the ingredients in your mixer and pulse till it becomes a coarse paste. Leave it in the refrigerator for an hour or two if you have the time (it helps develop the flavours). If you are hungry and want that fish now, go ahead and use it immediately. It will still taste good.

2. Preheat the oven to 150 degrees celsius. 

3.Arrange the fillets into a baking dish and scatter the cherry tomatoes all around them.

4. Add enough olive oil to cover the fish and tomatoes. 

5. Spread the tapenade over the fillets and squeeze some lemon juice over. Sprinkle a tiny bit of salt ( the tapenade has a lot of salt too) and pepper.

6. Bake in oven until fish turns opaque, 20 to 25 minutes. 

7. Garnish it with thyme and peanuts and serve.

Enjoy.

Images : Personal Album

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