Fish of the Day: Sea Bass in Banana Leaves Parcels

This flavoured dish is surprisingly very easy to make. I love serving it at my dinner parties because it only takes five minutes to prepare and the presentation always impresses my guests. It is original, healthy and delicious. The banana leaves will keep the fish moist and  impart a subtle sweet flavour to the dish.

For 4 people : 

20ml sesame oil

1.5 medium chilli seeded and roughly chopped

1.5 sticks lemon grass, peeled and bulbous ends roughly chopped

40g root ginger or galangal, peeled and roughly chopped

2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed

4 lime leaves, roughly chopped

10g coriander

4 fillets of sea bass, approximately 200g each, scaled and filleted

1–1 metre banana leaf (order from a good Asian or exotic greengrocer, if that fails wrap the fish in greaseproof paper)

Heat the sesame oil in a pan and fry the chillies, lemon grass, ginger, garlic and lime leaves for a couple of minutes. Then put them into a food processor with the coriander and chop them finely.  Preheat the oven to 200ºC. Spread the paste on each sea bass fillet and wrap in a piece of banana leaf like a parcel, folding the leaf so that the edges join underneath the fillet. Bake for 10–15 minutes.  Serve the fish on individual plates with coconut rice.