ON THE COOKING OF WHOLE FISH

First Painkillers of the season.

This past Saturday we had to cook inside: although the sun was shining and the temperature mild, the wind was not. Sigh! I was practically drooling over the prospect of Grilled Branzino with Roasted Sweet Potatoes. Alas, this was not to be as we determined that an open fire in 20 m.p.h. winds was well, yes, a fire hazard. Okay, i'm adaptable, and with a little help from Chef Google, Mungo and i proceeded. Oh ya, the recipe that i looked at, well it did still have fish and bread crumbs in it by the time i was finished. Just saying that almost any recipe should be looked at as a guideline, or inspiration.


If you don't know, Branzino is an European Bass, almost always wild caught, it is very prevalent in the Mediterranean and let me tell you it is 'move over' Chilean Sea Bass in the flavor department. Usually i am far more likely to support and buy local. There are many reasons for this but how could i resist those brilliant shiny fish(whole) for only $4.95 a pound, increased carbon footprint not withstanding. They were worth it.

By preference i will always buy whole fish: when you buy whole fish you are getting more than just your supper. The flavor palette is enhanced anytime you cook 'bone in; you can use the scraps, head, tail, etc to make a broth(why buy an overly salty, processed broth if you don't have to?) and most importantly when you buy whole fresh fish it is simply that - fresher - just of the boat so to speak. When you are in the fish market get as close and personal to the fish of your choice as your fish monger will allow: look at the eyes, they should be clear, not cloud, fish should be lying naturally, in contact with  bed of fresh ice, there should be no 'off odor'! Of course fish will smell, well fishy, but it should be a good, briny, fish smell. There is a difference between the smell of fresh fish and three day old fish. The flesh should be wet and shiny and spring back when touched, so watch when your fishmonger picks it up. Be choosy, and by all means cultivate a relationship with your new best friend, a retailer who appreciates your insight and input and will be happy in the future to try ordering in fish that you are interested in.

I know that a lot of people do not like dealing with or eating whole fish because they believe that fish with bones is something to be afraid of! What? Why? Yes, i know there is the very small risk of choking - no, not really -but even with the backbone removed you will occasionally find small bones in the filet. This is part of eating food, after all there are bones in chicken, beef and pork.

Anyway, back to adaptability, we opted to bake the Branzino in a Mediterranean style. I greased a metal baking pan and surrounded the fish with a melange of chopped shallots, leeks, garlic, capers, drained tomatoes and lemon juice topped with bread crumbs seasoned with salt, pepper, thyme, smoked paprika and a few crushed fennel seeds. than poured a goodly amount of extra virgin olive oil over everything. This was baked at somewhere between 325 - 350 degrees F, until the fish was white and flaked.

Okay, so these are Mussels.  We forgot to take plated pictures.  Sorry.

It was awesome! It was so awesome we both forgot to take pictures. I went from fish to filet to mouth - barely stopping for the plate.

Okay. just a bit more on adaptability and recipes: When adapting a recipe, do think about ratios and proportion. You should strive for a similar balance of dry to wet ingredients. Think about the base tastes in the original recipe, don't despair if you are missing a key taste, you can almost always find an acceptable substitute, like onions will work if you don't have shallots or leeks. Necessity is the mother of invention, and invention can be delicious.

More later,
Morgainne