Ask your fishmonger to scale the bass well and to empty it from the back, removing the backbone. Mix all the ingredients of the stuffing. The salmon roe being salty, taste before adjusting the seasoning which must be quite rich. Roll the stuffing into sausages, put them into the fish and close. Choose the green leaves of the lettuce. Soak them one by one into boiling salted water, for 1 second only. Lay them on a cloth to dry. Wrap the whole fish up with these leaves. Tie up with a thread, but not very tight. Put the fish in the dripping-pan of the oven. Slice all the vegetables thinly, cook and brown lightly in a tablespoonful of butter. Surround the fish with these vegetables. Moisten lightly with the white wine, bake in a hot oven (400F), moistening from time to time with wine, but keep some of it aside. Before serving, put the fish onto a tray, open the lettuce leaves, fold them all around. Deglaze the dripping-pan with the remaining wine, taste, salt, pepper, boil for 5 minutes. Sieve. Boil again. Remove from the heat, add the butter in small pieces all the while whipping, serve in a sauceboat. You can keep the fish in a refrigerator for 24 hours before cooking if you prepare it this way.
