Ingredients (4 to 6 people):
a handful of higiki algae;
water;
± 3 kg of salt;
dried tarragon;
pink peppercorns;
± 2 egg whites;
1 sea bass with about 1 kg (clean from the gut but with scales);
lemon
For the sauce:
2 egg yolks;
½ lemon;
2 tablespoons water;
salt;
garlic powder;
mill pepper;
200 g of vaqueiro butter;
chopped coriander
1 – soak the algae in warm water and turn the oven to 180 ° c. Drain the algae and chop them into small pieces with scissors. 2 – reserve a handful of chopped seaweed to put on the inside of the sea bass and mix the remaining seaweed with the sea salt. Perfume with a little dry tarragon, add a few grains of pink pepper and the egg whites (reserve the egg yolks for the sauce) and mix everything. Make a bed with the salt mixture on a dish tray where the sea bass can fit. Wash the sea bass, dry it very well and place it on the bed of salt. Insert the reserved seaweed and a slice of lemon into the belly of the sea bass. Cover the fish with the remaining mixture of salt and seaweed, leaving the head and tail uncovered, and bake for about 25 minutes. With the tip of a sharp knife mark the outline of the fish in the salt.
3 – meanwhile, prepare the sauce. Pour the egg yolks into a bowl, add the lemon juice and cold water. Season with a pinch of salt, garlic powder and freshly ground pepper. Dispose the yolks very well with a wire stick. Cook this mixture in a water bath over a low heat, stirring constantly with the wire rod until the sauce starts to thicken. Add the vaqueiro butter, cut into pieces, little by little and without stopping with the wire rod. The sauce should have a creamy and velvety consistency. Remove from heat and set aside.
4 and 5 – sauté the salt crust with a few strokes with the tip of a knife in the outline marked in the salt. Serve with cooked potatoes and accompany with the prepared sauce.