Branzino Arrosto
Roasted Whole Sea Bass
by Mario Batali (from Vino Italiano: The Regional Wines of Italy)

Ingredients
• 1 bulb fennel, with lots of greens
• 1 orange
• 2 lemons
• ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• ½ cup calamata olives, pitted
• 2 sprigs each sage, thyme, and rosemary (¼ teaspoon each if dried)
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 two-to-three-pound branzino (European sea bass), cleaned and scaled but with head and tail on, or   other firm, white-fleshed fish, such as striped bass, red snapper, porgy, or pompano

Serves 2

Procedure
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.

2. Remove the leafy green fronds from the fennel and place them in a large mixing bowl. Cut the fennel bulb in half and slice it as thin as possible across the grain with a knife (or even better, on a slicer or a mandolin) and add to the tops. Zest the orange and one of the lemons and combine with the fennel. Juice the zested fruits and set the juice aside. Add ¼ cup of the olive oil, the olives, sage, thyme, and rosemary, and season with salt and pepper Toss the mixture to dress it like a salad.

3. Coat the entire fish with the other ¼ cup of olive oil. Salt and pepper the fish aggressively, especially inside. Stuff the cavity with the fennel mixture and set the fish on a baking sheet. Cut the second lemon into rounds about 1/8- inch thick and set them on top of the fish.

4. Place the baking sheet on the middle rack of the preheated oven and roast the fish for 20 minutes per pound, or about 40 to 50 minutes total, depending on the size of the fish. A meat thermometer inserted where the head ends and the body starts should register 135°F. The skin should begin to blister and separate from the flesh. Remove the fish, allow to cool for 5 minutes, and fillet.

5. In a small bowl, combine the reserved lemon-orange juice, the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil, and the chopped parsley to create a zippy sauce to drizzle on top of the fish fillets. Season the sauce with salt and pepper and serve on the side.

Wine recommendation:
Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi or Verdicchio di Matelica. Many producers of Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi at one time played up the affinity of their whites for fish by packaging the wines in fish-shaped bottles, and while it may have been kitschy, it did make a point. The crisp acidity and herbal tang of a good Verdicchio, from either Jesi or Matelica, will point up all the delicate flavors of the branzino.

IWM Recommendation:
  Sartarelli Verdicchio Tralivio

This recipe is printed with the expressed permission of Mario Batali and Clarkson Potter Publishers. No part of this recipe may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission.