Here's your chance if you've never tried your hands at cooking a whole fish. Chef Steve Corry professes this roasted branzino recipe offers a seamless and flavour-rich experience. "It's pretty tough to land up with an overcooked, dry piece of fish when dealing with this recipe," states Corry. The magic begins with cooking the Branzino in a skillet to attain a nicely browned crispy skin, and then it's off to the oven for finishing. The final serving is with a delectable, simple-to-make caper-parsley compound butter which, upon meeting the warmth of the fish, transforms into a sumptuous sauce.

Branzino, or the European sea bass, as they call it in Italy, is a crowd-pleaser due to its gentle, sweet taste and firm, flaky texture. It's also appreciated for having fewer bones which are quite simple to remove. It's an excellent choice for cooking whole because "the bones offer protection against extreme heat and add flavor and moisture," as per Corry. This recipe calls for roasting the fish, but steaming or grilling are good alternatives too.

While Branzino still survives in the wild, overfishing history has compelled countries to establish catch limits, and some have even closed doors for commercial fishing. As a result, a lot of Branzino available in the U.S., especially from Mediterranean offshore farms, is farmed. An alternative is the recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS), which, although a sustainable fish farming method, is not so mainstream. Branzino raised here and those caught wild are less frequent in grocery stores but can be purchased online. Striped bass, similar to Branzino but native to North American waters, is a good replacement if Branzino is unavailable. Tip: You can ask your fishmonger to scale and gut the fish to save time.

Corry recommends using wild Tunisian mountain capers for the compound butter, they are usually packed in sea salt but any caper would do the task. Despite its mild taste, Branzino can get drowned by big, New World white wines. It complements the crisp Italian white Vermentino well.

The recipe is rounded off by stuffing the Branzino with lemon and rosemary, and then frying in olive oil until the skin browns and crisps up. It's then transferred to a baking sheet and roasted in the oven. The finished dish is served whole or filleted, with caper butter on the side. So, create your kitchen magic with this simple recipe that promises a trip to flavor town.