Sea Bass

Lavraki is one of the two fish, alongside tsipoura, that a Greek taverna will almost always have on the ice, and most of what is sold now is farmed rather than caught wild. Greece is among the largest producers of farmed sea bass anywhere, which is why a whole one at a reasonable price has become an ordinary weeknight option rather than a special occasion fish.

It is nearly always cooked whole and on the bone, either grilled over charcoal or baked plaki style with sliced tomato, onion and potato in the same dish. The dressing is ladolemono, olive oil and lemon juice whisked together with a little oregano, and it goes over the fish while the flesh is still hot so that it soaks in rather than sitting on the surface.

Wild lavraki has firmer flesh and a leaner body than the farmed fish, and costs several times as much. Either way the main risk is overcooking. Sea bass is done the moment the flesh at the thickest part of the back lifts cleanly away from the backbone, and a couple of minutes past that point turns it dry and cottony with no way back.