Sea bass in a salt crust (Bar en croûte de sel)

1. Heat the oven to 200 °C. Put thyme and a few lemon slices into the cavity of the cleaned sea bass.

2. Mix the coarse sea salt with the beaten egg whites until it has the texture of wet sand.

3. Spread half the salt mixture as a bed on a tray, lay the fish on it, then cover it completely with the remaining salt and seal.

4. Bake for about 30-35 minutes until the salt crust hardens and dries to a golden colour.

5. Take it out of the oven, rest for a few minutes, then crack the hard salt crust and carefully lift it off.

6. Peel off the skin, lift the fillets onto plates, drizzle with olive oil and serve with a little pepper.

Tip: The salt crust locks in the moisture, so the fish turns out incredibly juicy and only just salted – no extra salt needed. It really works with a whole, gutted fish. Fresh lemon and good olive oil make it complete.