Whole fish baked into a salt crust

This is one of the simplest ways to prepare fish, but the results are amazing. Main ingredients are only two - fish and sea salt. Fish should be very fresh and with firm meat - sea bass, sea bream and red sea bream are very proper. Some recipes call for adding seasoning - bay leaves, thyme or lavender, but I like it simple, taste is good enough without additions. Skin prevents fish from getting salty. Salt seals the moisture inside the fish but it absorbs the moisture from the skin, so you get a roasted, but not steamed fish as a result. 

Ingredients:

• 1 whole fresh fish (about 1 kg), cleaned and gutted
• 2 kg sea salt

For the sauce:

• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 1 sprig of rosemary

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 200°C (400°F). Rinse the fish and pat dry. Choose baking dish which is slightly larger than your fish and place a 1 cm thick layer of salt on its bottom. Put the fish above, layer with the remaining salt and gently pack the salt on it. Fish should be covered completely. For one kg fish you need about 20 minutes baking time.

Break the top crust with a hammer, remove gently the salt and skin the fish. Serve into the plates, drizzle with some of the sauce and serve.