Grilling sea bass on lemon leaves provides a wonderful citrus aroma to this light dish. Garlic breadcrumbs offer a crunchy texture to the buttery fish, and the roasted zucchini and tomato add a sweet and salty component that balances all the flavors.
Feel free to substitute halibut, cod or even swordfish if sea bass is not available.
Serves: 4
Preheat oven to 375˚F. Place bread on a sheet pan and toss with 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Bake until light golden brown and crispy, about 10 minutes. Remove from oven, allow to cool and place into a food processor. Pulse into crumbs, about 1 minute. Remove crumbs and place into a small bowl with butter. Mix well.
In a small sauté pan on medium heat, add 1 tablespoon of oil and garlic, Sauté until light golden brown and add to crumb mixture.
Preheat grill to 350˚F. Arrange 6 slightly overlapping lemon leaves on a sheet pan to form a 6-inch rectangle. Brush each side of sea bass with oil, season with salt and pepper and place skin-side down in center of rectangle. Repeat with remaining pieces of fish. Liberally sprinkle fish with breadcrumbs and add 2 teaspoons of lemon juice to each piece of fish. Place lemon and fish packets onto grill. Grill until fish is just cooked through, about 8 minutes.
Preheat oven to 300˚F. Slice tomatoes in half and place on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Drizzle with oil, season with salt and pepper and bake until soft, about 30 minutes. Remove from oven and place in bowl.
Raise oven to 400˚ F. On a sheet pan lined with parchment paper, mix zucchini with 3 tablespoons oil, salt and pepper. Bake for 10–15 minutes, remove from oven and add to bowl with tomatoes. Toss gently and add cheese. Serve with fish.
*Please note: the leaves are meant to impart an aroma to the dish but are not supposed to be eaten.
