Whole Fish Baked In Salt Crust From Île De RÉ Food

SALT CRUSTED WHOLE FISH

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, trimmed to extend 3-inches in diameter around outside of the fish.
• In a medium bowl, combine the egg whites, sea salt, flour, 2 tablespoons of the parsley and 1/2 cup of water. Mix with your hands until a thick paste forms.
• Fill the cavity of the fish with the sun-dried tomatoes, olives, artichoke hearts and lemon slices. Rub the exterior of the fish with the garlic, then sprinkle with the remaining 1 tablespoon of parsley and freshly ground black pepper
• Put the fish on the parchment lined baking sheet. Mound the salt paste evenly over the entire fish. Press the mixture firmly down to the baking sheet, being careful to seal any cracks.
• Bake the fish until the crust is golden brown and very firm, about 18 to 20 minutes.
• Slide the parchment and fish onto serving platter or cutting board and crack the crust with a handle of a large knife. Slide a spoon under the top fillet, over the spine, and lift it to a serving platter. Turn over and repeat. Garnish with lemon slices and serve immediately.

SEA BASS IN A SALT CRUST FROM ÎLE DE Ré

Steps:

• Heat oven to 400 degrees. In a large bowl, mix together coarse salt, fine salt, flour, thyme and fennel. Add egg whites and mix for 2 to 3 minutes to make a flexible and firm dough; if dough is too dry, add more egg whites one at a time as needed.
• Roll dough out on parchment paper to a thickness of about 1/2 inch. Put vegetables in the cavity of the fish, and place fish in the center of the dough. Wrap fish entirely with dough, using the edges of the parchment to help lift the dough over the fish. Transfer parchment with encased fish to a shallow baking pan, and tear off excess parchment from around the fish.
• Bake for 25 minutes. Cut open and remove salt crust from fish. Remove the skin of the fish. Discard crust and skin, fillet the fish and, if desired, serve with a beurre blanc sauce.

WHOLE SALT-BAKED FISH

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Stuff the cavity of the fish with lemon slices, thyme, bay leaves, and garlic.
• In a large mixing bowl, mix the salt and egg whites with your hands; it will become the consistency of wet sand.
• In a large baking dish or rimmed baking sheet that is large enough to fit the entire fish (it's okay if the fish only just fits), lay one-third of the salt mixture down, roughly in the shape of the fish. Place the fish on top of the salt mixture and pack the remaining salt mixture around the fish, leaving exposed the area from the eyes to the nose, and also the tail fin. The salt mixture should fully encase the fish, but may not fill the pan. In fact, unless you use a really narrow pan, you'll probably leave most of the pan exposed.
• Bake for about 30 minutes, until the internal temperature of the fish is 130 to 135 degrees F. Depending on the exact size of your fish, your cooking time may vary. Don't break the salt crust while it's cooking or you'll let the juices escape. If you have one of those nice thermometers with the wires that you can leave in the oven while you cook to determine temperature, use that, and pack the salt around the probe to seal it in before cooking. If you don't have one of those fancy thermometers, check the temp by going through the exposed mouth with a probe thermometer. Once done, remove the fish from oven and let rest for 5 minutes before serving.
• While the fish is resting, whisk together the lemon juice and zest, oil, Dijon, salt, and pepper to make a lemon vinaigrette to serve over the fish.
• To remove the fish from the salt shell, use a butter knife and a wooden mallet or spoon. Like a paleontologist, I try to guess where the dorsal fin would be. Hit the fish right there, in the middle of the back (remember it's laying on its side). I place the tip of the butter knife where the dorsal fin was and tap it with the mallet or spoon, putting it in and giving it a wiggle. I score all the way around the fish, like I'm excavating it, so I can remove the salt dome in one piece. It doesn't mess anything up if you don't get it off in the one piece, but it just looks cooler if you do. Once you've gone all the way around the outline of the fish, remove the top part of the salt dome.
• The skin is a little chewy, but it still tastes good, so help yourself to a piece. Cook's reward. Then go under the skin with a fork, down to the spine, and slide across the bottom to filet the fish from the spine. You might get it all in one filet. But most times you have to go back and clean it up.
• Then take the mallet and butter knife, and place the knife at the base of the spine where it meets the head. Tap the handle end of the butter knife with the mallet to crack the spine. Remove the entire spine and bones. With a fork, slide along the bottom of the fish, between the flesh and the salt crust, to remove the other fish filet. You probably won't get the skin off cleanly with this filet, and that's fine.
• This will yield two 10-ounce (or so) filets. Place each filet on a plate and finish with a spoonful of the lemon vinaigrette and a sprinkle of salt and parsley on top.

WHOLE ROAST FISH BAKED IN SALT

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Lightly oil a baking sheet large enough to hold the snapper.
• Rinse the snapper thoroughly, inside and out, and pat dry with paper towels. Stuff the cavity with the rosemary, thyme, coriander seeds, and bay leaves.
• On the baking sheet, spread about 1/2 pound of the salt in an even layer that is slightly longer and wider than the snapper. Place the fish on the salt layer and cover completely with the remaining salt.
• Bake until a instant-read thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the fish reads 130/, about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven. Brush away as much salt as possible. Using two dessert spoons, remove the top fillets and transfer to a warm plate. Lift off the bones, then transfer the bottom fillets to another plate. Serve immediately, with the extra-virgin olive oil and lemon wedges passed on the side so each diner can season their fish as desired.

WHOLE FISH BAKED IN SALT CRUST FROM ÎLE DE RÉ

Steps:

• 1. Heat oven to 400 degrees. In a large bowl, mix together coarse salt, fine salt, flour, thyme and fennel. Add egg whites and mix for 2 to 3 minutes to make a flexible and firm dough; if dough is too dry, add more egg whites one at a time as needed. 2. Roll dough out on parchment paper to a thickness of about 1/2 inch. Put vegetables in the cavity of the fish, and place fish in the center of the dough. Wrap fish entirely with dough, using the edges of the parchment to help lift the dough over the fish. Transfer parchment with encased fish to a shallow baking pan, and tear off excess parchment from around the fish. 3. Bake for 25 minutes. Cut open and remove salt crust from fish. Remove the skin of the fish. Discard crust and skin, fillet the fish and, if desired, serve with a beurre blanc sauce.

SEA BASS BAKED IN A SALT CRUST

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place salt in a baking dish, and heat in the oven for 15 minutes.
• Remove salt from oven, and increase temperature to 450 degrees. In the bottom of a roasting pan large enough for the fish, spoon about a third of the warm salt in the approximate shape and size of the fish. Lay 2 slices of lemon and 3 sprigs of tarragon on the salt.
• Lay the fish on top. Place the remaining lemon slices and tarragon on top of the fish. Spoon the remaining salt on top of the fish, patting it on the sides and making sure to cover it completely.
• Bake the fish 10 to 12 minutes, or 8 minutes for each inch of thickness. Check for doneness by inserting the tip of a knife through the salt crust into the thickest part of the fish and wedging it slightly to see if the flesh is cooked.
• Remove fish from oven, and quickly break off the salt, brushing off as much as possible. Transfer to a serving platter. At the table, remove the skin and fillet the fish. Pass the olive oil for sprinkling over the fillets.

SALT CRUSTED WHOLE FISH

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, trimmed to extend 3-inches in diameter around outside of the fish.
• In a medium bowl, combine the egg whites, sea salt, flour, 2 tablespoons of the parsley and 1/2 cup of water. Mix with your hands until a thick paste forms.
• Fill the cavity of the fish with the sun-dried tomatoes, olives, artichoke hearts and lemon slices.
• Rub the exterior of the fish with the garlic, then sprinkle with the remaining 1 tablespoon of parsley and freshly ground black pepper.
• Put the fish on the parchment lined baking sheet. Mound the salt paste evenly over the entire fish.
• Press the mixture firmly down to the baking sheet, being careful to seal any cracks.
• Bake the fish until the crust is golden brown and very firm, about 18 to 20 minutes.
• Slide the parchment and fish onto serving platter or cutting board and crack the crust with a handle of a large knife.
• Slide a spoon under the top fillet, over the spine, and lift it to a serving platter.
• Turn over and repeat.
• Garnish with lemon slices and serve immediately.

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.