Whole fish in the oven

Continuing with the fish theme, take a look at this gorgeous white sea bream:



It was a little over 1 kg before it was cleaned, and it's difficult to buy fish much fresher than this: it smelt like the ocean itself!

The question is: how do you cook it? Most people would consider grilling it on charcoal, but I think that by roasting it in the oven and keeping it very simple we are able to enjoy much more of its flavor and juiciness.

Here's how we do it: sprinkle the whole fish with kosher salt one hour in advance. Keep it in the fridge but remove it 15 minutes before you're ready to put it in the oven.

Eat the oven to 200 C.

Peel and thinly slice potatoes, sweet potatoes, cassava and onions. Distribute evenly them on a oven tray, season with kosher salt, pepper and a generous amount of olive oil. Add a few peeled garlic cloves which you have smashed with the back of a knife. Cover the tray with aluminum foil and put it in the over. Lower the temperature to 180 C.

Peel two tomatoes and dice them.

After 20 minutes, take the tray out of the oven, remove the aluminum foil, sprinkle the tomatoes over the potatoes and arrange the fish on the tray. Add a few spoons on olive oil over the fish. Maybe put a few sprigs of parsley over the fish also.

Return the tray to the oven. Roast for 15 minutes. Open the oven and pour a glass of dry white wine on the tray. Back into the oven. Another 15 minutes should be enough for the fish to cook. The idea is that as soon as it is cooked we should remove the tray from the oven. Overcooking will render the fish dry. It may have a nice caramelized taste, but the flavor of the fish itself is gone. Below you can see the same white sea bream after it was cooked this way (sorry, I had already started serving it when I remembered to take the picture, that why the fish is not intact.)

Garlicky ray

For me, going to the seaside is more about buying, cooking and eating fresh fish and seafood than it is about enjoying the beach itself.

The highlight of this week of holidays was ray cooked in a way that is very traditional here. It is a simple dish but it turned out surprisingly delicious. Besides the ray, say about 1 kg, you only need new potatoes, garlic and olive oil. Here's a picture of the ray, and notice how fresh it was:



Sprinkle the ray with kosher salt one or two hours in advance. Poach it water seasoned with salt; be careful not to overcook it. Reserve the cooking liquid. Once the fish is cold enough to handle, carefully remove the skin and separate the flesh from the bones. Break the flesh into large chunks and reserve.

Meanwhile, boil the potatoes without peeling them. Smallish white potatoes that are appropriate for boiling and that are really tasty is very important to the success of this simple dish. Once they are cold enough to handle, peel the potatoes, break them into large chunks by hand and distribute them on a serving tray. Distribute the fish also on this platter.

Make the sauce: smash three of four garlic cloves, skin-on, with the back of a knife. Put them in a bowl and add olive oil (say a 1/4 cup), salt, vinegar (two tablespoons), pepper, and a couple of tablespoons of the warm cooking liquid of the fish. Mix well. Let it stand 10 minutes or so for the garlic taste to infuse the oil.

Spoon the sauce over the fish and potatoes mix. Let it stand for 10 minutes. This is wonderful at room temperature but also coldish. If all the ingredients are good quality and cooked to perfection, this is absolutely delicious. (No picture of the final product, sorry.)