Naturally Gluten Free Spiced Sea Bass

Naturally gluten free I find this feeds 6-8 depending on your portion size

I have made this dish for Rosh Hashanah and Chanukah but prefer it in the winter when Fresh Sea Bass is in season

1 whole sea bass weighing approx 1.5k (3.5lbs)
Little coarse salt
Juice of 2 lemons
4 tbsp olive oil
½ large or 1 small red onion diced
2 cloves crushed garlic
1 tsp each ground cumin, coriander, tumeric fenugreek (opt) ginger and chilli
300ml (10fl oz) passata or fresh tomato sauce
Handful of chopped fresh coriander leaves
4 tbsp of honey
50g (2oz) of pine nuts or slivered almonds
Olive oil.

Score the fish and rub with salt, pour over the lemon juice and leave to marinade overnight in the fridge.

Next day toast the pine nuts or almonds in a dry pan until golden (2 minutes). Remove with a slotted spoon. Add the olive oil to the pan and fry off the onions and garlic till soft add the spices and cook for a minute to aromatise. Now add the passata and coriander leaf, stir and switch off pan.

Place half the toasted pine nuts in an ovenproof dish; lay the fish on top. Pour over the sauce. Top with pine nuts and cover dish with a lid or foil. Cook in a preheated oven for 30 minutes on a medium high heat - 170ºC Fan, 190ºC. 375ºF, Gas Mark 5, Moderately hot oven

Remove foil, baste and then drizzle over the honey and return to the oven for 10 minutes to glaze

Serve with plain rice that can be cooked in the oven 1 cup rice plus 2 cups boiling water placed in a separate covered casserole with a little salt or herbs if you wish.

Passata is a thick puree of tomatoes which were de-seeded an is sold in cartons in most supermarkets

Whole Spiced Sea Bass