Make a tasty salt-roasted branzino with potatoes

Video: Fabulous fish! Cook up this flaky, tasty sea bass

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   >>> kitchen. jeremy macmillan is the executive chef of the farmhouse and the barn in bedford new york. he's here with simple gourmet meals. good to see you.

   >> thanks for having me here.

   >> fish is as simple as you can get.

   >> absolutely.

   >> a lot of people are intimidated by it.

   >> it's funny because it's the easiest thing to cook. we'll show you today we really like to cook things whole to keep it simple .

   >> whole fish, i think people would be nervous about that.

   >> we'll give you a fool-proof way to cook it where you can't go wrong. we'll cook it in a salt crust.

   >> what kind of salt?

   >> we use sea salt but any salt you have at home. we are using branzino, a widely available fish. but anything you like. if you want to use snapper, bass.

   >> salmon?

   >> salmon would be great. absolutely. we actually take the cavity and stuff some herbs, thyme.

   >> you slice it open?

   >> have the fish monger do it. ready to go. we have the lemon zest , salt, egg white to help bind the salt up. mix it together. it's like wet sand .

   >> so it's a salt plaster of paris.

   >> exactly. it keeps the moisture inside so the fish stays really moist. you keep the aromatics from the lem lemon, thyme, garlic if you like.

   >> it doesn't make it too salty?

   >> it perfumes it, but it doesn't get overly salty. once it's mixed you just pour it over the top , mount it over like covering somebody in the sand.

   >> pat it on? is.

   >> yeah, just pack it down. form it around. you want to cover it as much as you can. if you need more, pack it around. bake it in the oven depending on how big the fish is. these are a pound and a half. probably takes 25 minutes. this is what it will look like after a. you can see it's really hard. you can break it, take your aggression out. there you go. it comes off in big chunks.

   >> after you do it you have to filet it?

   >> you do or you don't. you can serve it just as is.

   >> let other people worry about getting the bones out. you're on your own!

   >> you can use scissors, a spatula, a knife, whatever you want . it comes right off the bone.

   >> let's take it back there. we have potatoes to get through before we finish up here. and here are the ladies.

   >> helping you finish up.

   >> instead of cooking under salt we roast the potatoes on salt. after they're roasted, smash them up, roast them in olive oil . finish it with whatever you want . we use anchovy sauce.

   >> pardon mesanparmesan. that looks great.

   >> salt, olive oil and lemon juice .

   >> very nice.

   >> you plate it like that?

   >> you can finish it with chopped herbs, lemon juice .

   >> i have to give it a try.

   >> thank you so much.

   >> thanks for having me.

   >> coming up, kathie lee and hoda have the secret of getting what you want.

   >> they always get what they want.

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