Rock Cod in a Crust of Rock Salt

Sea Bass Baked in a Crust of Salt

with Spinach, Dill Butter

(Serves 4 People)

This is a great recipe for holidays. It can be done for as many people as you wish. All you have is to order a bigger fish and make sure the oven is big enough for the fish to be baked...The fish must have scales on and be fresh. The scales filter the salt, impregnating natural gelatin into the fish flesh and sticking to the dough while baking to make it easier to remove the skin. The fish coming out of the oven should go straight to the guest table and be carved open by half (the scales and skin will stick to the dough making it easy to serve just the meat of the fish)

Tools: - 2 cup sauce pan - 5 inch round plain pastry cutter - baking pan - brush - pastry pin - dinner fork - Small knife

Ingredients:- to convert - one 4 lbs Sea Bass with bone and head, scales on and not gutted - 2 lbs all purpose flour - 1 lbs rock or Kosher salt - 14 oz. water - 2 lbs fresh spinach - 2 oz finely sliced shallots - 2 oz butter - 1 egg wash

Dill Butter Ingredients: to convert - 6 oz. butter - 2 oz finely chopped shallots - 1 bunch dill - 1 cup white wine - salt and pepper - Tomato concassé

Steps: 1) Gut the bone as shown on the video and bone the fish entirely (belly and dorsal lateral bones to be removed with pliers). Do not remove the fish scales 2) Mix the salt, flour and water together till it makes a compact dough 3)Sweat the shallots with the butter for 5 MN. Add the spinach and cook till it has wilted completely and season with salt and pepper. Reserve in refrigerator. 4)Season the filets with pepper (salt is coming from the crust). Spread the spinach on one filet and cover with the other filet (scales on the outside) 5)Roll the salt dough 1/4" thick and tack in the fish, cutting around, to give a fish shape and appearance. Egg wash the top. 6)Cook in a 400° oven for 45 min. 7) While the fish is baking, prepare a dill butter by boiling the shallots and white wine until the wine evaporates almost entirely then the butter is added by little chunks. A dash of cream at the end helps keep the butter together for a longer time 8)To serve the fish, cut the dough on one side and flip open carefully the top crust (The skin should stay attached to the crust). Then cut

Chemistry: (to be developed)

wine recommendation: Kremser Wachtberg Gruner Veltiner A deep, brassy gold, with a light green glow. An open-plus nose; ripe apricot and baked-apple aroma has a honeyed mineralality, some orange rind. An exotic and succulent bouquet. In the mouth the mineral flavor makes a subtle but persistent impression, with a touch of fleshy white fruit. There's a little spice underneath, but the background is largely an insistent mineral taste. Medium-good body, rich and round, with an aggressive acidity counterpoint..