Roasted Black Sea Bass with Tomato & Olive Salad

The beautiful photo of this dish in the magazine is what first grabbed my attention. Also, I'm a sucker for any recipe with sun-dried tomatoes and kalamata olives. When I saw that this dish had both, I was immediately intrigued.

A friend of ours has an amazing garden...with everything from oregano to sage to lavender. She was so sweet to give me a whole bag of these gorgeous orange tomatoes...Aren't they so CUTE?!? They had such a fresh and robust flavor...as did this entire dish. I prepared the salad first...so that the flavors would have time to meld and come together properly. Once the salad was ready, I prepared the fish and put it into the oven. The taste was nothing short of awesome! The fish remained tender and moist (I did use tilapia instead of sea bass!), not to mention the great flavor that the fresh oregano added. I couldn't have been happier with the results.

I had fun taking photos of this dish...can you tell? Hah.

You've GOT to try this one!!***

For salad:
1 garlic clove
1/2 teaspoon anchovy paste (I left this out!!)
2 tablespoons red-wine vinegar
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 pound grape tomatoes (preferably mixed colors), halved if large
1/2 pound cherry tomatoes (preferably mixed colors), quartered if large
12 Kalamata olives, pitted and coarsely chopped
4 sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil, chopped
1 1/2 tablespoons chopped oregano

For fish:
4 (6-to 8-ounce) black sea bass fillets with skin, any pin bones removed (I used tilapia fillets!)
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1/2 medium red onion, thinly sliced
6 (3-to 4-inch) oregano sprigs

Equipment:

kitchen string

Preparation:
Make salad: Mince and mash garlic to a paste with 1/2 teaspoon salt. Transfer to a bowl and whisk in anchovy paste, vinegar, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Whisk in oil. Toss with remaining salad ingredients. Let stand, stirring occasionally, while fish roasts.

Roast fish: Preheat oven to 425°F with rack in middle. Oil a 1 1/2-to 2-quart gratin or other shallow baking dish.

Rub flesh sides of fish with 2 teaspoons oil (total) and season with 3/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper (total). Divide onion slices and oregano sprigs into 2 portions and sandwich each portion between 2 fillets, skin sides out. Tie with kitchen string crosswise at 2-inch intervals and transfer to baking dish. Score skin on top in several places with a sharp knife and drizzle with remaining 4 teaspoons oil.

Roast fish until just cooked through, about 15 minutes. Cut off string and cut sandwiched fillets in half crosswise. Serve topped with salad.

Cooks' note: Salad can be made 6 hours ahead and kept at room temperature.