Branzino al forno — roast sea bass with potatoes, tomatoes and olives
Two small sea bass roasted on thinly sliced potatoes, with burst cherry tomatoes, olives and a white wine, garlic and parsley pan sauce.
Ingredients for two
| 900 g | Whole sea bass (lavrak), gutted and scaled 2 sea bass, 450 g each, gutted and scaled by the fishmonger, bought fresh on the day; 900 g whole fish yields about 450 g flesh (nutrition counts the whole fish) |
| 450 g | Potatoes 3 medium potatoes, cut into 5–6 mm slices, about the thickness of a 10-shekel coin |
| 250 g | Cherry tomatoes 16–17 tomatoes, halved |
| 50 g | Black olives in brine (Kalamata, Gaeta or Israeli) 12–15 whole Taggiasche or Gaeta olives, stones in (tell everyone at the table), added 10 minutes before the end |
| 10 g | Pine nuts 1 tbsp, toasted in a dry pan for 2 minutes and scattered over with the parsley (optional) |
| 55 g | Extra virgin olive oil 30 g for the potatoes (3 tbsp), 15 g to brush the sea bass skin and cavities, 10 g uncooked to finish |
| 80 g | Kosher dry white wine 80 ml dry kosher wine, poured around the fish as they go into the oven |
| 10 g | Garlic 2 cloves, thinly sliced: half for the cavities, half between the potatoes |
| 15 g | Flat-leaf parsley leaves chopped, stalks reserved |
| 120 g | Lemon 1 lemon: 4 thin slices, the rest cut into wedges |
| 8 g | Fine salt 3 g for the potatoes, 5 g for the fish, preferably coarse salt: on the skin on both sides and in the cavity, 15–20 minutes before roasting |
| 1 g | Ground black pepper ½ level tsp |
Method
- Preheat the oven to 200°C fan. Peel the potatoes and cut into even 5–6 mm slices with a mandoline or knife, about the thickness of a 10-shekel coin. Toss in the roasting dish with 30 g oil, 3 g salt and half the pepper, without garlic or liquid, and arrange in a single, slightly overlapping layer. Roast for 12–15 minutes: the edges should begin to brown and a knife tip should meet slight resistance.
- As soon as the potatoes are in the oven, pat the sea bass thoroughly dry with kitchen paper and season with 5 g salt, preferably coarse salt, over the skin on both sides and inside the cavities. Leave on a plate in the fridge for 15–20 minutes. Meanwhile, halve the cherry tomatoes, chop the parsley leaves and reserve the stalks, cut 4 thin, seedless lemon slices and cut the rest into wedges, and toast the pine nuts in a small dry frying pan for 2 minutes. Put 2 lemon slices, a few parsley stalks and a quarter of the sliced garlic into each cavity, using half the garlic for both fish.
- Take the dish out of the oven. Gently turn the potatoes with a spatula without breaking them, and tuck the other half of the sliced garlic between them. Add the tomatoes around the sides, cut side up. Wipe away the moisture released by the sea bass, brush the skin and cavities with 15 g oil and season with the remaining pepper. Lay them on the potatoes, facing in opposite directions without overlapping. Pour the 80 g wine around the fish, not over them, to keep the skin dry.
- Roast for 20–25 minutes at 200°C without turning the fish. After 12 minutes, scatter the whole olives around the fish and close the oven. Start checking the thickest part near the head after 20 minutes: the flesh should be opaque and separate under a fork, the eye should be white, and a probe should read 56–58°C without touching the backbone. Cook for just a few minutes longer if the centre is still translucent.
- Transfer the whole sea bass to plates with two spatulas and rest for 3 minutes: the residual heat finishes the cooking and the flesh becomes opaque right to the backbone. Check that the potatoes are soft underneath and golden on top; a few spoonfuls of juices should remain in the dish. If none remain, add 2 tbsp hot water and scrape up the browned juices with a spatula.
- Add the chopped parsley and pine nuts to the vegetables. Arrange the potatoes, tomatoes and olives around the fish, drizzle the 10 g uncooked oil over the sea bass flesh and vegetables, spoon over the hot juices and serve with the lemon wedges. To eat a whole sea bass, lift the upper flesh away along the backbone, then lift out the backbone in one piece by holding the tail; this exposes the lower flesh without the backbone. Tell everyone that the olives contain stones.
Fish-free
- Whole sea bass (lavrak), gutted and scaled → Boneless skinless chicken thighs (pargiyot) 400 g (4 pargiyot, 100 g each)
- add Dried oregano 2 g (1 heaped tsp, for the chicken marinade)
- At step 2, instead of salting the sea bass, mix the pargiyot with 10 g oil, taken from the fish's 15 g, 3 g salt, the remaining pepper, half the sliced garlic, the juice of 2 lemon wedges and the dried oregano. Leave to marinate in the fridge while the potatoes have their initial cooking. Place the lemon slices on the chicken when it goes into the oven.
- At step 3, first divide the partially cooked potatoes between the large dish and a small 24 × 18 cm dish, using a separate spatula for each. Divide the tomatoes and add the chicken's olives now, then lay the fish in one dish and the chicken in the other. The remaining garlic goes between the potato slices in the fish dish. Pour 2 tbsp wine around the chicken and the rest around the fish. Seal the chicken dish tightly with foil folded firmly over the edges: meat and fish must never cook uncovered together in the oven. Put both dishes in at the same time for 20–25 minutes at 200°C: the chicken braises in its tomato, olive and wine juices and should reach 74°C at its thickest point. Keep the chicken covered when adding the fish's olives; take the fish dish out of the oven before uncovering the chicken.
- Rest the chicken for 3 minutes, as for the fish. Finish each dish separately with the parsley, pine nuts and uncooked oil; serve the same vegetables and lemon wedges, using a separate spoon for each dish's juices. Timing: chicken and fish go into the oven together, and both plates are ready together 20–25 minutes later.
Replacement quantities serve two. For one fish plate and one fish-free plate, keep the accompaniment for two and use half the fish and half the replacement; divide the seasonings before they touch either raw protein and use separate dishes and utensils for fish and meat. To avoid any question of kashrut, the pargiyot can instead cook in a covered sauté pan on the hob: 4 minutes per side over a medium-high heat in their 10 g oil, then add their share of the tomatoes and olives and 2 tbsp wine, cover and cook over a low heat for 6–8 minutes, taking the same time as the fish in the oven.
Lighter version
- Extra virgin olive oil : 35 g
20 g for the potatoes, 10 g for the fish, 5 g uncooked to finish: the dish is still delicious, with less gloss.
On your plate
Recipe
1136 kcal · protein 105 g · carbs 48 g · fat 56 g
Quantities per person
- 450 g Whole sea bass (lavrak), gutted and scaled
- 225 g Potatoes
- 125 g Cherry tomatoes
- 25 g Black olives in brine (Kalamata, Gaeta or Israeli)
- 5 g Pine nuts
- 27.5 g Extra virgin olive oil
- 40 g Kosher dry white wine
- 5 g Garlic
- 7.5 g Flat-leaf parsley
- 60 g Lemon
- 4 g Fine salt
- 0.5 g Ground black pepper
Fish-free version
813 kcal · protein 48 g · carbs 48 g · fat 45 g
Quantities per person
- 225 g Potatoes
- 125 g Cherry tomatoes
- 25 g Black olives in brine (Kalamata, Gaeta or Israeli)
- 5 g Pine nuts
- 27.5 g Extra virgin olive oil
- 40 g Kosher dry white wine
- 5 g Garlic
- 7.5 g Flat-leaf parsley
- 60 g Lemon
- 4 g Fine salt
- 0.5 g Ground black pepper
- 200 g Boneless skinless chicken thighs (pargiyot)
- 1 g Dried oregano
Cooking tips
Ask for two fish of the same size so they cook evenly. Buy the fish fresh on the day, never frozen. Salt the sea bass 15–20 minutes before roasting and wipe them thoroughly dry: the skin stays glossy and slightly crisp. Prepare the vegetables before taking the fish out of the fridge. For one fish plate and one fish-free plate, divide the potatoes between two dishes before adding the proteins; they must not be mixed afterwards.
Liguria and the Riviera: branzino al forno con patate, olive taggiasche e pomodorini.