on the menu: whole roasted branzino

I’ve been wanting try new fish, and new methods of cooking fish. Whole roasted branzino is easy with great presentation value.

roasting branzino

Instagrammed

I started roasting some fingerling potatoes about 30 minutes in advance as the fish cooks quickly, especially in a hot oven. There is a range of roasting approaches, ranging from ~20+ minutes at 350° to 10 minutes at 500°. I went for a happy medium, around 16 minutes in a 425° oven. I jumbled together a few recipes, mainly this one and this one.

branzino

Pillivuyt Eden porcelain oval baking dish

I was really pleased with the flavor and texture of this branzino, a.k.a. Greek sea bass. There is the appeal, too, of the fish being fresher and less expensive when purchased whole (I didn’t gut it myself, though this would be pretty badass to be able to do, and I aspire). The cavity can be stuffed with any number of herbs and accents, I used lemon, basil, garlic, thyme, and salt.

branzino

x

on the menu: grilled ginger salmon with kale, fleur de sel

IMG_1605-mod

Fleur de sel is so pretty.

Ginger, garlic, herbs de provençe & tellicherry pepper on wild Alaskan sockeye salmon. Wonderfully rich, fatty texture on this fish, which I was careful not to overcook.

Lots of ginger.

After I took the photo I added even more parsley. I have a thing about piling on herb garnishes until ‘garnish’ isn’t quite the right category for them anymore. More like, ‘incorporated side dish’.