Sea Bass Grilled Over Fennel Branches


2 to 3 pound cleaned New Jersey black sea bass
salt and freshly ground pepper
dried fennel branches
2 tablespoons olive oil
anisette

Rinse fish and dry thoroughly. Season inside and out with salt and pepper and stuff with a fennel branch. Prepare a charcoal broiler with a base layer of fennel branches and ignite them. Keep adding more fennel. When burning well, place fish on a wire rack, brush fish with olive oil and place the rack on the grill. Broil fish for 6 minutes on one side and 8 minutes on the other side. To serve, put additional branches of fennel on a fireproof serving platter. Warm the platter and put fish on top. Sprinkle fish with anisette, ignite the liqueur, and serve the sea bass flaming.