3 Greek ways with baked whole fish (or fillets) with herbs and greens, PLUS a guide to choosing fresh fish
Sea bream - Sea bass - Sea trout / Λαβράκι - Τσιπούρα - Πέστροφα
One thing everyone in my family agrees on is that any day is a good day to eat fish. Well, Aris in not so many words, he rather exclaims, “Yes mama, I loooove fish!” each time it’s on the menu, and then continues with: “Are they dead? Did we kill them? Are there still fish left in the sea?”
Good points my boy, good points, and ones we should all consider when buying fish. Keep it sustainable and always be grateful to the creatures that nourish and sustain us.
In Greece, our philosophy when it comes to cooking fish is “simple makes perfect”, and this particular way of cooking whole fish (or fillets if you prefer) in the oven or over an open fire using a ψησταριά (psistaria) aka a Greek BBQ, is a classic one in my home country.
It’s a simple and brilliant way to cook fish that tastes delicious without fiddling with it too much or adding unnecessary ingredients but rather relying on the quality and freshness of the fish.
Here, I’m sharing with you three recipes with different kinds of fish, all baked in the oven using varying herbs and greens, plus some tips that make all the difference when it comes to cooking fish.
These dishes are total winners in our house not only because the flavors are fantastic, allowing you to savor the fish, inhaling its freshness that’s elevated by the herbs, citrus and extra virgin olive oil, but also because it is the real fast food. You can have dinner on the table in less than thirty minutes from the moment you set foot in your house to the moment you sit down to eat. Now, that’s hard to beat.
P.S. Aris has mastered the skill of early detecting and successfully removing fish bones from his mouth. That’s my boy!
More fish recipes:
Before we dive into the recipes, a guide to choosing fresh fish and how to tell if it’s past its prime, plus essential notes about swapping ingredients in these 3 dishes, and more:
I will always prefer whole fish to fillets, nose to tail kind of thing, but sometimes that’s all you can find and that’s okay. I do hope these quick and easy recipes will provide you with some inspiration to cook your fish whole, eating those fish cheeks that are delicious and not wasting a single part of this precious ingredient.