Fresh Whole Sea Bass

Why you'll love it

• Classic sea bass - silver body with dark speckling along the back, bright eyes, firm flesh.
• Mild, sweet and forgiving, which is why chefs reach for it again and again.
• Sold whole, or butterflied - a whole fish for roasting and steaming, an opened one for the grill.
• Few bones, generous yield of clean white meat.

About this fish

Sea bass is the benchmark white fish: delicate enough to steam whole with nothing but ginger and spring onion, robust enough to stand up to a hot grill or a salt crust. The flesh is white, close-grained and gently sweet, with a good fat content that keeps it succulent.

These come cleaned and scaled. The whole fish is ideal for steaming or roasting; the butterflied fish opens out flat and cooks fast and evenly over coals or in a pan.

How to cook it

Steam whole with ginger, spring onion and hot oil; roast with lemon and herbs; or grill the butterflied fish skin-side down until the skin crisps.

At a glance

• Form: whole fish, cleaned and scaled (also supplied butterflied)
• Colour: silver with dark speckling
• Storage: keep refrigerated, or freeze on day of delivery