Recipe courtesy of Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger

Wrapped and Grilled Whole Striped Bass with Salsa

  • Yield: 4 to 6 servings
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Ingredients

1/2 cup cracked black peppercorns

1/2 cup fresh lime juice

1 bunch cilantro leaves, chopped

1/2 cup olive oil

2 (1 1/2 pound) striped bass, cleaned, with heads and tails on

Salsa:

1 pound Roma tomatoes

6 to 8 garlic cloves, peeled

1 to 2 jalapeno chiles, stemmed, seeded if desired

1/2 yellow onion, peeled

1 teaspoon coarse salt

Pinch of freshly ground black pepper

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 avocado, diced

2 bunches collard greens, washed, untrimmed

Directions

  1. Combine marinade ingredients in a glass or ceramic baking dish. Whisk to combine. Using a sharp knife, score several diagonal lines along the length of the fish, down to spine, on either side. Marinate 1 hour in the refrigerator. After marinating, preheat grill or broiler. Meanwhile, prepare salsa: Preheat the broiler. Place the tomatoes, garlic, chilies and onion on a baking tray. Tuck the garlic underneath the vegetables to avoid blackening.
  2. Broil, turning frequently, until well charred, 15 minutes. Set aside to cool. Transfer roasted ingredients to a food processor fitted with the metal blade or blender and puree until smooth. Season with salt and pepper. Whisk in the olive oil and add the avocado. Set aside. Blanch greens in a large pot of boiling, salted water, just until the water returns to a boil. Refresh with iced water and drain. On a large baking sheet, arrange greens, overlapping to form 2 rectangles as long as each fish and more than twice as wide. Place each fish in the middle of each rectangle and wrap with greens so that only the head and tail are exposed. The dampness will make them cling.
  3. Transfer fish to grill, reserving marinade. Cook 7 to 8 minutes per side, until greens, head and tail blacken. It will take 2 spatulas, one at the head and one at the tail, to turn fish. Don't be concerned about greens sticking. To test for doneness, try to pull out a dorsal fin from the top of the fish. If it slides out easily, the fish is done. To serve, place whole fish on a serving platter. Using a dull knife and soup spoon, scrape off any remaining skin and remove fins. Cut along spine first and serve the top fillet. Lift tail, insert knife between bones and flesh, and run it along length. All (or most) bones should easily lift out. Repeat for second fish. Serve with the salsa.

Let's Get Cooking!

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Robin L.

I did not use whole fish, I had 2 big chunks of striped bass, so I did not wrap it in the collard greens. The salsa was absolutely delicious. I roasted the tomatoes, onions and jalapenos rather than broiling them. I separately roasted a whole garic wrapped in aluminum foil for an hour and added that to the other vegies in the food processor. I used 2 fairly large jalapenos and the salsa definitely had a kick but not too bad. This salsa would also be great on chicken. The marinade on the fish did not seem to add too much to the taste of the fish but that maybe because it was such large chunks rather than a whole fish.

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