Fish Baked In Salt With Romesco Sauce Recipes

SALT-BAKED FISH WITH LEMON-OLIVE RELISH

Steps:

• Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 450 degrees F. Rinse the fish inside and out and pat dry with paper towels. Season inside and out with pepper. Finely chop 2 tablespoons parsley and set aside. Divide the remaining parsley between the fish cavities.
• Toast the fennel seeds in a dry medium skillet over medium heat until golden, about 4 minutes. Grind the toasted fennel seeds in a spice grinder or with a mortar and pestle; transfer all but 1 tablespoon to an extra-large bowl. Add the salt and lemon zest, then stir in the egg whites until the mixture is the consistency of wet sand.
• Pat a thin layer of the salt mixture, slightly larger than the shape of the fish, on each of 2 rimmed baking sheets. Put the fish on top of each salt pile, then cover completely with the remaining salt mixture, following the shape of the fish and patting down the salt mixture. Before the fish is fully encased, mark the thickest part of each fish behind the neck with a paring knife and make a small hole in the salt mixture (this is where you?ll insert a thermometer).
• Bake the fish until the crusts are golden and a thermometer inserted into the marked spots registers 140 degrees F, 40 to 50 minutes. Remove from the oven and let stand 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, make the relish: Mix the olives with the olive oil, lemon juice, reserved 2 tablespoons parsley and 1 tablespoon ground fennel, 1 tablespoon water, 1/4 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of pepper. Set aside until ready to serve.
• To remove the salt, crack the crusts all the way around the fish with a paring knife; discard the crusts. Slide a spatula under each end of the fish and transfer to a platter or cutting board. To serve, remove the top fillet of each fish with a butter knife or spoon; discard the skin. Pull off the bone; discard the bone and head. Remove the skin from the bottom fillet. Serve with the lemon-olive relish.

RED SNAPPER BAKED IN SALT WITH ROMESCO SAUCE

Steps:

• For sauce:
• Preheat oven to 400°F. Toss tomatoes, bell peppers, and onion in small baking dish with 2 tablespoons olive oil. Roast until partially charred, turning every 15 minutes, about 45 minutes. Cover with foil; let stand 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in small skillet over medium-high heat. Add chile; fry until darkened and slightly puffed, turning once, about 30 seconds. Transfer to small bowl. Add enough hot water to cover. Let stand 30 minutes.
• Peel and seed ancho chile, tomatoes, and bell peppers; place in blender. Peel onion; coarsely chop and add to blender.
• Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in small skillet over medium-high heat. Add almonds; sauté until lightly toasted, about 1 minute. Transfer to blender. Add 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, garlic, vinegar, bread, and paprika to blender; blend to coarse puree. Transfer to bowl; season with salt. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill. Bring to room temperature before serving.)
• For fish:
• Preheat oven to 450°F. Place 1 fish in each of two 13x9x2-inch metal baking pans. Cover each fish with 3 pounds salt. Drizzle 1 1/2 cups water over salt in each pan. Using hands, pack salt over fish to cover completely.
• Bake fish until thermometer inserted into center of fish registers 135°F, about 30 minutes. Gently rap salt crust with back of spoon to crack; carefully remove salt. Use pastry brush to remove any remaining salt. Carefully transfer whole fish to platter and serve with sauce.
• *Sold at Latin American markets, specialty foods stores, and some supermarkets.

ROAST WHOLE FISH WITH SALSA ROMESCO

Steps:

• Heat the grill to high. Put the peppers, skin-side up, onto a baking tray and grill for about 20 mins until the skins blacken all over. Put them into a food bag, seal, then leave for 10 mins. Once cool, peel away the skins. Tear the flesh into strips. Mix with the tomatoes, garlic and chilli in a bowl. Roughly chop most of the parsley leaves and add to the bowl with the hazelnuts, vinegar and oil, then stir well. This salad 'matures' well, and tastes even better if you can make it a few hours ahead.
• When ready to cook, heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Rinse and dry the fish, score the flesh on each side, then put the parsley stalks and a few lemon slices into the cavities. Put a few more lemon slices in an oiled baking dish and lay the fish on top. Season the fish well, drizzle with more olive oil, scatter with remaining parsley, then roast for 20 mins, until the flesh flakes easily.
• Serve the fish from the dish, set the bowl of salad and the potatoes alongside, then dig in.

ROASTED FISH WITH ROMESCO SALSA

Steps:

• Heat oven to 400 degrees. In a medium bowl, toss the tomato, peppers, garlic, paprika, vinegar and 1 tablespoon olive oil; set aside.
• In a small skillet, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium-high. When the oil is hot, add the torn bread and cook, tossing often, for 3 to 5 minutes, until toasted and golden brown. Transfer to a cutting board to cool, then coarsely chop the bread into pieces.
• Carefully wipe out any crumbs from the pan with a paper towel, then add a splash of olive oil. Add the almonds and toast over medium heat, tossing occasionally, for about 3 minutes, or until golden brown. Transfer to the board with the bread and set aside to cool.
• Pat the fish dry with a paper towel and place on a sheet pan or in a baking dish. Brush all over with olive oil and season generously with salt and pepper. Roast until the fish is cooked through and flakes easily with a fork, 10 to 12 minutes.
• Add the bread, almonds and parsley to the tomato salsa and toss well. Spoon over the fish fillets, sprinkle with coarse sea salt and serve immediately.

FISH WITH ROMESCO-STYLE SAUCE

Steps:

• Pour dressing over fish in shallow dish; turn to evenly coat both sides of each fillet. Refrigerate 20 min. to marinate.
• Meanwhile, blend next 4 ingredients in blender until smooth; pour into bowl. Stir in parsley. Refrigerate until ready to use.
• Heat large nonstick skillet on medium-high heat. Remove fish from marinade; discard marinade. Add fish to skillet; cook 6 min. on each side or until fish flakes easily with fork. Serve topped with sauce.

WHOLE FISH BAKED IN SALT

Steps:

• 1. Preheat the oven to 400°F.
• 2. Rinse the fish with cold water, pat it dry and refrigerate until just before cooking.
• 3. Pour a fine layer of salt in the bottom of an oven-proof baking dish that is just slightly larger than the fish. Lay two bay leaves on the salt, then place the fish on the bay leaves. Place the peppercorns inside the belly cavity of the fish, then top the fish with the remaining 2 bay leaves. Pour the remaining salt over the fish to cover it, leaving the tail fin exposed if necessary.
• 3. Place the fish on the middle rack in the center of the oven and bake for 25 minutes. You cannot test the fish for doneness - you simply have to trust the timing. Remove the fish from the oven and gently crack off the layer of salt, removing as much of it as you can. Most of the skin will come off the fish as well - what doesn't come off when you remove the salt you need to remove gently, using a sharp knife.
• 4. Remove the fillets divide the fish among four slightly warmed dinner plates. Drizzle with olive oil and garnish with the chervil, if desired.

BAKED SEA BASS WITH ROMESCO SAUCE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 220C/fan 200C/gas 7. Tip all of the vegetables into a roasting tray with the unpeeled garlic cloves. Season, pour over 4 tbsp olive oil and toss together. Roast for 20 mins until starting to soften.
• Pat the fish dry with kitchen paper, then slash the skin on both sides with a sharp knife. Season the inside of the fish, then stuff with the lemon slices and half of the herbs. Place on top of the veg, drizzle with more oil, scatter with the rest of the herbs, then roast for 20-25 mins. When the fish is cooked, the flesh will feel firmer and the dorsal fin (the large one on the back) will pull away easily.
• Lift the fish and half of the vegetables onto a serving plate and cover with foil to keep warm. Spoon the rest of the vegetables and most of the juice from the roasting tray into a food processor. Add the vinegar and hazelnuts, blend until smooth, then check the seasoning. Serve the fish with the vegetables and sauce, lifting the fillets off the bone.