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 unavailable. Here is the recipe for the best sea bass grilled on lemon leaves with garlic and breadcrumbs served with zucchini and tomato.
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients
2 cups Italian bread, preferably a day old, crusts removed and cut into cubes
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 large cloves garlic, minced
24 Lemon leaves
4 7- to 8-oz pieces of sea bass
kosher salt and pepper, to taste
8 teaspoons lemon juice
2 large zucchini, cut into 1-inch thick pieces
8 plum tomatoes
Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
Directions
Preheat oven to 375˚F. Place bread on a sheet pan and toss with three tablespoons of olive oil. Bake until light golden brown and crispy, about 10 minutes. Remove from the oven, cool, and place into a food processor. Pulse into crumbs for about 1 minute. Remove crumbs and put them into a small bowl with butter. Mix well.
In a small sauté pan on medium heat, add one tablespoon of oil and garlic, Sauté until light golden brown and add to crumb mixture.
Preheat the grill to 350˚F. Arrange six slightly overlapping lemon leaves on a sheet pan to form a 6-inch rectangle. Brush each side of the sea bass with oil, season with salt and pepper, and place skin-side down in the center of the rectangle. Repeat with the remaining pieces of fish. Liberally sprinkle fish with breadcrumbs and add two teaspoons of lemon juice to each piece of fish. Place lemon and fish packets onto the 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 a bowl.
Raise oven to 400˚ F. Mix zucchini with three tablespoons oil, salt, and pepper on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. 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.
If you liked our Sea Bass Grilled on Lemon Leaves with Garlic and Breadcrumbs Served with Zucchini and Tomato recipe, check out:
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