Mediterranean · Lunch · Dinner
Grilled Sea Bass
Lavraki sti Schara
Whole branzino grilled until the skin is crisp and smoky and the flesh is tender, with a cavity full of lemon, garlic and fresh herbs. A light, simple Mediterranean dinner that lets the fish shine.
- Prep
- 15 min
- Cook
- 16 min
- Total
- 31 min
- Serves
- 2
Calories come from: Carbs 8% · Fat 39% · Protein 53%
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Ingredients
For 2 servings- 2 fish (about 450 g each)whole branzino (sea bass), scaled and gutted
- 1 tbsp + 1 tsp18 gextra virgin olive oil
- 1 medium85 glemon, thinly sliced
- 1 medium85 glemon, cut into wedges for serving
- 2 cloves6 ggarlic, thinly sliced
- 1 small handful10 gfresh flat-leaf parsley
- 4 sprigsfresh thyme sprigs
- 1/2 tspsalt
- 1/4 tspblack pepper, freshly ground
Steps
- 1
Heat the grill to medium-high (about 200-230 °C / 400-450 °F) and clean the grates well.
- 2
Rinse the fish inside and out, then pat completely dry with paper towels.
- 3
Cut 3 shallow diagonal slashes into each side of both fish, down to the bone.
- 4
Rub the fish all over with 1 tbsp of the olive oil, then season inside and out with the salt and pepper.
- 5
Fill each cavity with the lemon slices, garlic, parsley and thyme.
- 6
Brush the hot grates with the remaining 1 tsp olive oil using a folded paper towel held in tongs.
- 7
Lay the fish on the grill and cook undisturbed for 7-8 minutes, until the skin is charred and releases easily.
- 8
Carefully turn the fish with a wide spatula and grill another 7-8 minutes.
- 9
Check doneness: the flesh should be opaque, flake easily at the thickest part and reach 63 °C / 145 °F.
- 10
Rest the fish for 2 minutes, then serve with the lemon wedges for squeezing over.
Swaps, storage and make-ahead
Swaps
- Use whole sea bream or red snapper of a similar size if branzino is hard to find, adjusting the grill time slightly for thicker fish.
- Swap the thyme for fresh oregano, dill or rosemary sprigs in the cavity for a different herb flavour.
- Cook the fish on a lightly oiled grill pan or under a hot broiler if you don't have an outdoor grill.
- Use skin-on sea bass fillets instead of whole fish for easier eating, grilling them skin-side down for about 3 to 4 minutes per side.
Storage
This dish is best eaten fresh, while the skin is crisp. Refrigerate any leftovers within 2 hours, removing the flesh from the bones, and use within 1 to 2 days, reheating gently until steaming hot or flaking cold into a salad; freezing is not recommended as the texture suffers.
Make ahead
You can slice the lemon and garlic and wash the herbs a few hours ahead and keep them covered in the fridge. The fish can be slashed, stuffed and kept covered in the fridge for up to a few hours, then oiled and seasoned just before grilling.
Nutrition values are for the recipe as written.
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Allergens and nutrition
Contains: Fish
Check the labels of packaged ingredients for allergens and suitability for your diet.
Full nutrition
| Per serving (555 g) | Per 100 g | |
|---|---|---|
| Calories | 321 kcal | 58 kcal |
| Protein | 42.4 g | 7.6 g |
| Carbohydrates | 6.7 g | 1.2 g |
| of which sugars | 1.5 g | 0.3 g |
| Fiber | 1.7 g | 0.3 g |
| Fat | 13.7 g | 2.5 g |
| of which saturated | 2.4 g | 0.4 g |
| Sodium | 740 mg | 133 mg |
Nutrition is calculated from USDA FoodData Central data and may differ from what you cook.
