It’s not often that I get to eat fresh fish at home as it’s quite expensive. But it so happened that there was an offer on Orata, one of my favourite type fish in Italy, last weekend. And I got a piece.
At 6.50 euro, it’s still not cheap, but it’s a once in a while treat. Moreoever, cooking it yourself is definitely cheaper than in restaurants and it’s not that difficult to do.
The hardest part is probably gutting and cleaning a fish, but luckily, most of the work was already done for me at the counter.
All that I had to do was to cut away the fins on top, the side and the bottom and scrape away any scales that was still there.
Nice clean fish!
Dry it with a paper towel, then sprinkle a bit of salt and pepper and cover it with some slices of lemon on the outside.
And in the inside where the gills used to be, sprinkle some salt and pepper and stuff with some garlic and parsley.
Wrap in an aluminium foil on top of a bed of potatoes (already mixed with olive oil, salt and rosemary) and bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes at 220 degrees Celsius.
The fish will be cooked in it’s own liquid mixed with the lovely ingredients that you’ve added. And when it’s done, the most amazing smell wafts out as you open the foil.
Using a fork to pierce through the flesh, the fish is wonderfully tender and moist. I just couldn’t wait to eat this!
And I did. And it was so delicious and I ate with gusto! (Hence the lack of pictures) All that’s rest are bones.
Le sigh! I wish I could just share with you a taste. It might sound extremely simple, but trust me, it was very very good!
Fantastic recipe! Thanks for sharing 🙂
No worries! I hope that you’ll enjoy eating them! Is fish cheaper where you are by the way?
It depends on what kind of fish. Usually the fish, including shellfish, for sashimi are much more expensive because they are fresh and of higher grade.
Evil post! Even after my lunch =p Mmmm fishh..
It’s really yummy Nick! It sounds so simple but gosh, I want moar pls …
This sounds terrific. However, are the potatoes done? It’s a hot oven, so maybe. But I’d parboil them maybe a bit? What’s your experience on this?
I didn’t parboil them as they were cooked well as it is already. Cutting it into smaller pieces will help to cook it faster 🙂