roasted sea bass with fava beans, olives and celery leaves

branzino al forno con fave e olive

TOTAL TIME: 50 minutes

MAKES: 4 to 6 servings

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Ingredients

Fine sea salt
2 cups shelled fresh fava beans (2 to 2 1/4 pounds in pods)
2 (2-pound) whole sea bass, cleaned and scaled
Freshly ground black pepper
Extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 small onion, very thinly sliced into rings
3/4 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup pitted cured black olives
1 cup celery leaves, from heart and inner stalks of bunch

Instructions

Heat oven to 400º.

Bring a medium saucepan of salted water to a boil. Add beans and cook for 1 minute; immediately transfer with slotted spoon to a bowl of ice water to stop cooking (reserve 1/2 cup of the fava cooking liquid). Drain beans, then gently peel and discard skins.

Rinse fish inside and out; pat dry with paper towels. Sprinkle fish inside and out with salt and pepper. Lightly coat a large baking dish with oil. Arrange fish in dish, then fill cavities with onion. Lightly drizzle fish with oil.

Roast fish in oven for 10 minutes, then pour 1/2 cup wine over fish and sprinkle with olives. Continue roasting until flesh is opaque and fish is cooked through, about 15 minutes more.

Remove pan from oven and transfer fish to a serving platter. Transfer pan juices and olives to a medium saucepan; add remaining 1/4 cup wine, beans and celery leaves. Gently simmer just until beans are tender. Spoon sauce over fish.

Photo by Ellen Silverman

Food styling by Maggie Ruggiero; prop styling by Amy Wilson

June 2012