Swap the traditional roasted chicken with this lovely Mediterranean oven-baked gilt-head bream. Easy and quick to prepare, this dish is a great alternative lunch idea. With only 3 ingredients you’ll get a simple and humble yet flavourful dish. Whole roasted fish with simple oven-roasted potatoes and wilted spinach is a healthy meal, with which you’ll fall in love.
I love preparing fish. It’s easy, quick and you need only one baking pan. Perfect! This time I decided on gilt-head bream. What a long name, isn’t it? Probably, you know this fish better under the name Dorade, Dorada, Orata or Orada.
Gilt-head bream is a sea fish, which is very often used in Mediterranean cooking. I’ve read it’s the best-tasting fish from the bream family. I really can’t be the judge of that. However, I can tell you that orada, salmon and trout are the top three of my fish list.
In addition, check out these fish recipes and maybe you’ll find something you like: bacon-wrapped trout, light and healthy grilled salmon with avocado mayo, a wonderful bacon-stuffed rainbow trout, gorgeous salmon in tomato fennel sauce, a lovely herb-baked trout, an amazing pesto salmon with pumpkin or the sesame seared tuna.
Furthermore, when buying a fish, never buy a frozen fish. Go for a fresh fish, check for clear eyes, pink gills and fresh fish smell. I am not talking about a disturbing bad smell. But you know what I mean; a sea fish should smell like the sea. Wink. Also, check for fish, which is already cleaned and ready for baking.
Fish is the hero of your dish
Back at home, I always loved a simple fish dish. Not only at home, but also at the restaurants, fish was always the hero of the plate. Therefore, as the side dish, I only made some classic simple potatoes and wilted spinach. Usually, the potatoes are boiled and then slightly buttered. But I wanted baked potatoes.
Oven-baked potatoes are heavenly good, easy and quick to prepare. Additionally, I always leave the peel on, in order to get lovely crispy potatoes and that great rustic look. Imagine potato cubes crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. Delicious!
In order to remove the fishbone quickly and like a pro, make a simple cut on top along the backbone. However, I almost always forget to do that. Consequently, I have to gently cut later into the baked fish, trying not to break it into pieces. So, do yourself a favour and make the small cut before baking. Wink.
Ingredients for one oven-baked gilt-head bream:
- 1 gilt-head bream (ca 360 g)
- 2 medium potatoes
- 3 handfuls of fresh spinach
- olive oil
- salt
- chili flakes (optional)
- 1/2 lemon
- cottage cheese (optional)
Preheat the oven to 200º C. Then, clean and wash the gilt-heat bream under cold running water. Before seasoning, dry it with some paper towels. Moreover, with a sharp knife make two parallel cuts on both sides of the fish and season it with some sea salt.
Furthermore, wash the potatoes and cut them into cubes, about 3 cm large. Cover the baking sheet with a piece of parchment paper. Then, place the sea bream in the middle and put the potatoes all around it. Also, you can use two smaller baking sheets and bake the potatoes separately.
Drizzle the fish and potatoes with some olive oil, sprinkle with some additional salt and chili flakes and put to bake for 30 minutes. At half-time carefully flip the fish, in order to get the crispiness on both sides.
Meanwhile, when the fish is baking, wash the spinach. Place the spinach leaves (without draining them) in a larger frying pan, drizzle some olive oil on top and cover with a lid. Once the spinach is wilted, remove from the heat but keep warm.
When you can easily pull the small back fin bones out, turn on the grill function for the last two minutes. As a result, you’ll get lovely crispy skin. Yummy.
Serve the oven-baked gilt-head bream with lovely baked potatoes and some wilted spinach. Also, a spoon of cottage cheese mixed with spinach brings some extra fresh flavour. Finally, carefully remove the whole bone from the fish, squeeze some lemon juice over it and dig into this great seafood dish.
Enjoy!
PS
If you like the recipe, if you make the recipe or if you have any new ideas how to improve or change it, let me know in the comments section below or alternatively share your photos and reactions with me on Instagram (@Passionspoon), Facebook or Twitter (@PassionSpoon1). Simply use the hashtag #passionspoonrecipes in your posts. I would love to see them! (wink)
