ORATA AL FORNO

BAKED SEA BREAM

The ideal for this dish is to buy small individual gilthead sea bream. When a fish such as sea bream, sea bass or red mullet is cooked whole, it’s better to keep the scales on to prevent the juices from escaping. To form a crust on the outside, dip the fish in breadcrumbs!

SERVES 6 PREPARATION TIME: 30 MINUTES COOKING TIME: 40 MINUTES

12 small purple artichokes

125 ml (4 fl oz/¹/₂ cup) olive oil

1 garlic clove

1 tablespoon chopped flat-leaf (Italian) parsley

2¹/₂ tablespoons white wine

2¹/₂ tablespoons vegetable stock, or water

6 or 12 small sea bream (depending on size)

1 handful of flat-leaf (Italian) parsley sprigs

200 g (7 oz) home-made breadcrumbs

Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F/Gas 6). Trim the artichokes as explained, then cut in half. Heat 3 tablespoons of the oil in a saucepan with the garlic (which is removed after cooking) and half the parsley. Place the artichokes in the saucepan, cut side down, sauté them on high heat for 2–3 minutes, then add the white wine. After 2 minutes, add the stock, season with salt, cover and cook for another 10–15 minutes on low heat, turning the artichokes once. Add the rest of the parsley and some stock, if needed.

Ask your fishmonger to clean the sea bream but don’t have them scaled. Season them with salt inside and stuff them with the parsley sprigs. Dip them in the breadcrumbs. Oil a hotplate or frying pan with the remaining oil. When it’s hot, brown the sea bream for 2 minutes on each side. Transfer the fish to a baking dish and bake for 5 minutes in the oven. Serve with the braised artichokes.

NOTE

To cook sea bream, allow 10 minutes cooking time per 2.5 cm (1 inch) of thickness.