Sea bass baked in red wine sauce with vegetables

A very tasty recipe and very nutritious at the same time! Sea bass is ideal for this recipe but anglerfish and monkfish are very suitable too

Recipe of Kostas Tsigas,

"Cook Book" magazne of "ETHNOS" newspaper

Ingredients (for 4 people)

For the fish:

1 whole sea bass (about 1.250 gr.), cleaned

5 tbsp of olive oil

1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped

2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

2 bay leaves

1 tsp of fresh oregano or thyme, finely chopped

1 tsp of fresh rosemary, finely chopped

2 tbsp of finely chopped flat-leaf parsley

2 cups of red dry wine

2 tbsp of balsamic vinegar

salt

black pepper

For the vegetables:

1 large red onion, cut into thick rings

3 ripe but firm tomatoes, finely chopped

1 cup of finely chopped celery stalks

1 fennel bulb, peeled and cut into large pieces

2 medium carrots, peeled and cut into thick slices

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180°C.

In a large frying pan warm 2 tablespoons of the oil on medium heat and sauté the chopped onion for about 4 minutes, stirring with a wooden spatula. Add the bay leaves, the garlic, the oregano, the rosemary, the parsley and the wine and turn the heat up to medium-high.

Cook the ingredients until the amount of liquid is reduced by half. Take the pan off the heat and pass through a sieve keeping the liquids in a bowl. Add in the wine mixture the balsamic vinegar and stir.

In the same pan add 2 tbsp of oil and then all the vegetables. Sauté over medium heat for about 10 minutes, gently stirring with the spatula and then season with salt and pepper.

Take off the heat and lay the sautéed vegetables at the bottom of an oven pan. Brush the fish with some oil on both sides and generously season with salt and pepper.

Using a sharp knife gently score the fish in 2-3 places on each side. Place the fish over the vegetables and pour over with the wine sauce.

Put in the middle shelf of the oven and cook for about 35-40 minutes, basting the fish often with the food's juices while cooking so not to dry out.

Serve the food while it is still hot along with the vegetables and the tasty sauce.