Seabass and Sea Bream (Dorade) are the mainstays of every Mediterranean fish market and seaside cafe. One of my favorite ways to prepare them is to cook them in salt. It’s an impressive-looking preparation, fun for a dinner party, but also surprisingly easy and essentially error-proof. The 25-30 minute cook time is the perfect amount of time to allow the cook to take a seat at the table and enjoy the appetizer course along with the rest of the party, before retaking center stage to dramatically break open the salt crust and carving out the delicate and flaky fish to appreciative nods from guests. Serve the fish along with a fresh and flavorful Greek salad and turmeric potatoes for a simple but elegant dinner.
Ingredients
Method
- Preheat the Oven: 350 degrees
- Prep the Fish: Rinse and dry the fish, season the cavity with salt and pepper and a few slices of lemon
- Prep the Salt: Add the salt to a large bowl and add water, mixing with your hands until the salt feels like snow.
- Salt the Fish: Pour ⅔ of the “snowy” salt onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and flatten with your hand so that it forms a layer ¼ of an inch thick. Place the whole fish directly on the layer of salt. Push the salt from the sides of the fish towards and over the fish, adding the extra salt from the bowl until the fish is entirely covered with salt.
- Bake the Fish: Cook the fish in the oven for 25 minutes. While in the oven, the salt covering the fish will harden and form a protective shell which allows the fish to cook without drying out.
- Remove the Salt: Remove the fish from the oven and carefully crack the salt crust with a spoon. Peel back the skin and carefully remove the flesh of the fish from the bones.
- Serve: with additional lemon slices.
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