Sea Bass Salmoriglio with Tomato and Black Olive Salsa

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Salmoriglio is a fabulous Sicilian marinade and dressing typically made from olive oil, warm water, lemon juice, oregano and garlic. There are many variations on this theme, and parsley and mint can be used, as well as, or instead of, the oregano. Equally, white wine has replaced lemon juice in some areas. Salmoriglio works well with meat, fish and vegetables, but I particularly love it with fish.

I am calling this Sea Bass Salmoriglio but, it truth, I have taken a few liberties. It turns out that neither my fridge nor local shop had any parsley or oregano. So I had to improvise and make substitutes. The fresh herbs I used included mint, dill, basil and celery fronds, and I added some dried oregano and a hint of chilli, as well. Served with a fresh tomato and black olive salsa and some new potatoes, this may not be your traditional Salmoriglio, but I promise you, whatever you call it, it is so delicious.

I have included both this version, as well as a more traditional version, in the recipe.

How to make Daffodil Kitchen’s version of Sea Bass Salmoriglio with Tomato and Black Olive Salsa

Collect all your ingredients together:

For the Salmoriglio –

• extra virgin olive oil
• water
• lemon juice
• garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
• fresh herbs – traditionally oregano and parsley and/or mint. I used mint leaves, fresh dill, basil, celery fronds
• dried oregano
• chilli flakes
• fine salt
• freshly ground black pepper

Tomato and Black Olive Salsa –

• medium size tomatoes, core removed and chopped into small cubes
• black olives
• spring onions, trimmed, peeled and finely chopped
• basil leaves, shredded

For the rest of the dish –

• fillets of sea bass or your choice of white fish
• olive oil
• freshly ground sea salt and black pepper
• hot, boiled/steamed or roast new potatoes, according to appetite

How to make this delectable dish:

Make the Salmoriglio Marinade/Dressing –

1. Measure the olive oil and water into a food processor and blitz until it emulsifies.
2. Add the remaining Salmoriglio ingredients and blitz again to finely chop and blend. (NB Save the lemon skins to cook alongside the fish.)

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Make the Tomato and Black Olive Salsa –

1. Chop the tomatoes, trim and finely chop the spring onions and shred the basil.
2. Place the tomatoes, olives, spring onion and basil in a bowl and stir together with 2 tablespoons of the marinade/dressing.

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Bring it all together –

1. Lay the sea bass, skin side down, on a chopping board, drizzle with olive oil and grind over some salt and black pepper.
2. Rub in some Salmoriglio marinade ensuring each fillet is covered in thin layer.
3. Using a baking dish which is large enough for the fish to be spread out in a single layer, drizzle a little olive oil over the base and scatter over around ⅓ – ½ of the tomato salsa mix.
4. Lay the fish, flesh side down, on the tomatoes and sprinkle olive oil on the skin, as well as grinding over some salt and pepper. Place the lemon skins in the pan.
5. Bake in the centre of a preheated oven for 10 – 15 minutes or until the fish is cooked. The length of time will depend on the size of the fillets.
6. Add the hot cooked potatoes to the pan, ensuring they are sitting in all the gorgeous juices from the cooked fish. Drizzle over some more olive oil.
7. Drizzle over the remaining Salmoriglio dressing and scatter over some more salsa, shredded fresh basil and slices of red chilli. Serve extra salsa on the side. Enjoy!

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Made this recipe?

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