Eating fish on a regular weekly basis will help lower your cholesterol and help your heart beat to a healthier beat. It is loaded with many nutrients like Vitamin D and protein that are essential for good health.

Branzino fish, also known as a Mediterranean Sea Bass  is a very mild, sweet tasting fish that even alone, baked in the oven, or grilled outdoors is a wonderful treat, but stuffing it with some tasty crabmeat will make it even more special. It may sound very complicated but actually this is a very easy meal to prepare. And it’s ready to eat under 1 hour from start to finish.

The stuffing contains flavorful shallot, colorful pepper and sweet corn. Add in a little bit of  parsley, breadcrumbs to hold it together and delicious crabmeat! Are you salivating yet?

An important tip about purchasing fresh fish is to look at the eyes of the fish. You want to make sure they are clear and not foggy. Almost as if they were still alive. That’s a a sign of a fresh fish. You also want to make sure it smells fresh not like dead fish, that’s bad and you definitely want to stay away from that. Don’t be afraid to ask your fish monger on what days they receive fresh fish,  it varies with each store, so try to plan your fish recipe for those days. Serve this with some fresh crusty bread or with a nice side of fresh pasta with a butter sauce. Either way it will be a special treat. Enjoy!

Crabmeat Stuffed Branzino

Ingredients: Serves 2

• 2 Branzino whole fish, about 1 pound each (have your fi
• 1/2 ear of corn
• 1/4 cup orange pepper, finely diced
• 1 small shallot, finely diced
• 1/4 teaspoon ground coriander seed
• 1 teaspoon unsalted butter
•  1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper ( I used white pepper)
• 3/4 cup crab meat, making sure all shells are removed
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley, finely chopped
• Juice and zest of 1/2 small lime, plus additional zest for garnish
• 1/4 cup plain bread crumbs
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Grease a rimmed baking sheet or spray with non stick spray.

Strip the kernels from the corn into a bowl.

In a small skillet, melt the butter over a medium heat and saute the pepper, shallot and corn for about 2 minutes.Add in the coriander, salt and pepper and saute for another minute. Remove from heat and set aside. Mix the crab meat, sauteed vegetables, parsley, lime juice and zest and bread crumbs. Mix to incorporate all the the ingredients.

Rinse the fish and blot dry  with a paper towel. Place onto a foil lined rimmed baking sheet. Stuff each Branzino fish with the crab meat filling.

Drizzle with the olive oil on top and place in the preheated oven  and bake for 30 minutes. Allow to rest for 5 minutes before removing with a large spatula.