I well remember the day that Virginia, author of the Sweet&Sour food blog, told me that she had prepared a sea bass for that weekend that, in a very simple way, had been out of a movie. Knowing her recipes and photos, as many of you already know, I was dying to see the recipe. And here it is! As I ran out of words, I say no more. Just enjoy!

With what I like fish, I confess that I almost always enjoy it grilled or baked, very clean, without fat or smears. In my land it is how it is customary to enjoy good raw materials. But it is also true that I like to change and try new combinations of products.

At home, I have told you on many occasions, that they are very classic, the custom..., but it is also true that little by little they are opening up to try new products, and combinations, in traditional dishes.

This is what happens to this Sea Bass stuffed with apple and fennel with cider sauce. My rib fell captivated by its charms! And don't think it's an easy thing.

In this case, the combination of the cider, with its strong point, with the sweetness of the apple and the roasted fennel inside the sea bass, create a perfect combination, which your diners will hardly resist. Then the texture of the sea bass meat does the rest, juicy but smooth, as opposed to the creaminess of the apple...

I have used two ration sea bass, obviously farmed, because there are only two of us at home, but if you choose a good wild specimen, I am not responsible for what your diners will say.

As you can see, I have roasted them in the Le Creuset roasting tray , which with its non-stick surface prevents these delicious sea bass from sticking to the bottom, even if we use, as you will see, only a trickle of oil. In addition, since it has a griddle at the base to distribute the heat, it can be used as a griddle on ceramic hobs and induction cookers. In fact, you could make this recipe on this tray directly on your vitro stove, but for my taste it is better and richer in the oven.

Let's go with the recipe that is simple but luxurious:

INGREDIENTS: (For 2-3 servings)

• 1 wild sea bass of 1,250 gr. or 2 farmed sea bass.
• 1 red apple (Red Delicious or Royal Gala)
• 1 fennel bulb
• 2 butter spoons
• 750 ml of dry cider (not sweet and without gas)
• 1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
• 1 teaspoon crushed mustard seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed black peppercorns
• Salt
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil

PREPARATION:

We begin by preparing the cider reduction:

In a medium saucepan, place the cider with the crushed mustard seeds, the fennel seeds and 1/4 teaspoon of the crushed peppercorns. Bring to a boil and reduce over medium-high heat, until a thick sauce is left, similar to the gravy of roasts. It will take us about 30 minutes.

Remove from the heat, transfer to a small bowl and add 1 tablespoon of butter to give it shine and consistency. We reserve in the heat.

Ready our cider reduction, we preheat the oven, 180ºC heat up and down.

Next we start with the Apple and Fennel filling: It is important to choose red apples, because as we are going to cook them with their skin they will give a point of color. It has to be apples with a crunchy point and a certain sweetness, to mark the counterpoint with the acidity of the cider. The apples that you see in the Kitchen Craft basket are of the red delicious and royal gala variety, and in my opinion the best for this recipe.

We wash our apple and fennel well. We remove the upper part of the fennel, with the hairy ones and make sheets with both.

I like to do this process with the buyer's ultra mandolin , because it allows me to obtain slices of the same thickness, which cook evenly. We choose a slice thickness of about 3.4 mm, with the guides that the mandolin has in the upper area and we place the blade in the smooth area. We place the apple or the fennel on the upper part and with the help of the safety knob (which I have not photographed so that you can see the operation better, but which you must use to avoid cutting yourself), we are sliding the apple over the blade from top to bottom and start again. In a matter of seconds we have ready the apple and fennel slices that will fall directly onto the tray. And by the way, cleaning couldn't be easier.

Once we have the fennel and the filleted apple, we put our Le Creuset skillet on the fire with 1 tablespoon of butter. When it has melted and is hot, add the apple and fennel slices and cook over medium heat for about 6 or 7 minutes. Just enough for them to cook slightly but still have a bit of crunch. We booked.

Ready our filling, let's go with the sea bass:

In the first place, if they have not already done so in the fishmonger, we descale it, open it, gut it and clean it very well. We remove the head and open it like a book, removing the central spine.

If you are not very skilled with fish, it is better that you do it at the fishmonger. It won't cost them anything and it will take more time for us and surely it won't stay the same.

Then we season it with salt and pepper and varnish it with cider reduction.

Fill it with the apple and fennel slices and tie it well with twine, so that when cooking it maintains its shape and the filling does not escape.

Once our sea bass is ready, we also season them on the outside and varnish them with more cider reduction.

We varnish the inside of our "Le Creuset" oven tray , with a trickle of oil, helped by a silicone brush and place the two stuffed sea bass inside.

We spread the rest of the cider reduction over the sea bass. Ready. Ready to go into the oven.

We bake 15-10 minutes, depending on the size of our sea bass. The meat should be white, not translucent, it will be a way of knowing if the fish is cooked. If you have any doubts, carefully open the thickest area of ​​the sea bass and if that area is white, our sea bass is done. In any case, you should know that in the case of fish, the cooking point is fundamental and it is better not to overcook it, so that it does not remain dry and to be able to preserve the juicy texture that we must find in the meat of our sea bass.

We extract from the oven and remove the thread that holds them and ready to enjoy.

We serve accompanied with a rocket salad and cherry tomatoes and of course with a good cider.

A special and simple dish, which without excessive effort, will leave you like kings in front of your diners. The meat of the sea bass, juicy and smooth with the strong point of the cider reduction with mustard and fennel and the sweetness of the interior filling of manza and fennel, make it an exquisite bite!!!

Advice

- This recipe can also be prepared with salmon or sea bream.

- If you couldn't find mustard seeds, it would be a shame, but be sure to try the recipe without them.

To enjoy.

Virginia