Artist's Palate: David Batchelor's salt-baked sea bass

David Batchelor’s salt-baked sea bass
(Image credit: Zachary Zavislak)

Scottish-born artist, writer and Royal College of Art tutor David Batchelor uses colour to attack form, to break it down and dissolve it. He is best known for doing this with street-found objects that he hollows out, stacks and fills with coloured light to create installations, using the forms to interrogate the meaning of colour. The recipe he shares with us this month is by contrast monochrome and actually quite flat. He discovered salt-baked fish in Sardinia several years ago and has been trying to impress friends with it ever since. The secret is to use an awful lot of coarse sea salt, keeping it out of the fish’s cavity and trying to keep your guests sober before they eat it, as separating the crust from the fish can be tricky.

Method
First try to get a really big fish – just to impress people with the size of the dish when you serve it. You also need a lot of coarse sea salt, freshly ground pepper, bay leaves and lemons. It’s best to mix the salt with a little water so it sticks together. Place a layer of salt, slightly bigger than the fish, on a flat baking dish. Grind pepper all over the fish and fill the cavity with bay leaves. Encase the entire fish in salt, making sure none gets in the cavity, and pat down to seal it. Cook in a hot oven for 35 mins or so. Take it out of the oven and leave for a few minutes. Then take the whole thing as it is to the table. Whack the crust with a heavy knife and carefully remove the hard salt and the skin of the fish. Serve with lemon to taste

INFORMATION

Photography: Zachary Zavislak. Interiors: Pei-Ru Keh

Read more
food sculpture
Surreal suppers: the artists playing with their food
artist Jake Grewal and painting
'It's a metaphor for life': rising star and 'Queer' poster artist Jake Grewal on his new London exhibition
Neil Ridley
How to be a crisp sommelier: Neil Ridley on ‘bringing fun back into food and drink’
bar valette london
Dinner and doilies: Bar Valette is an homage to intimate, yet unfussy dining
grayson perry
A portrait of the artist: Sotheby’s puts Grayson Perry in the spotlight
we are ona
Is this the future of fine dining? Culinary creative studio We Are Ona offers food for thought
Latest in Art
black and white image of kitchen
‘La Cocina’: the kitchen is a chaotic melting pot of contemporary culture in Alonso Ruizpalacios’ new film
Perfume Genius Glory album artwork
Inside the visual universe of Perfume Genius
frida kahlo
A major Frida Kahlo exhibition is coming to the Tate Modern next year
art works
Don’t miss these five artists at Art Basel Hong Kong
skull picture
The memento mori art inspiring Japanese Breakfast's new album
ai weiwei
Ai Weiwei's major retrospective in Seattle is a timely and provocative exploration of human rights
Latest in Feature
the toteme store in China by herzog & de meuron
Bold, geometric minimalism rules at Toteme’s new store by Herzog & de Meuron in China
zaha hadid architects future projects
The upcoming Zaha Hadid Architects projects set to transform the horizon
black and white image of kitchen
‘La Cocina’: the kitchen is a chaotic melting pot of contemporary culture in Alonso Ruizpalacios’ new film
lean lui guide to hong kong
A local’s guide to Hong Kong, by photographer Lean Lui
people at watch show
What can we expect from Watches and Wonders 2025?
Perfume Genius Glory album artwork
Inside the visual universe of Perfume Genius