SIMPLICITY—WHOLE ROASTED FISH

Sometimes, the easiest way is the best. That’s certainly the case with fish. Why bother with fiddly filleting when it’s easier to cook the fish whole? Fish cooked on the bone stays moister and tastier than cut-up fish. And, once cooked, it’s a whole lot easier to separate the flesh from the bones.

I´ve got a whole bonito (Sarda sarda), a blue fish related to mackerel and tuna (not the same as bonito del norte, which is albacore tuna). The fish weighs about 2 ½ pounds (gutted, with head). The recipe would work with any whole fish of similar weight—bluefish, salmon, sea bass, grouper, snapper, bream—although roasting time will vary with the thickness of the fish. Single-serving-sized fish such as trout, mackerel or bass can also be roasted whole. In this case, there’s no need to fillet them after cooking—let each person de-bone the fish once served.

Whole fish is roasted on a bed of sliced onions, lemons and tomatoes. 

 

This is a two-step procedure. The onions, sliced lemons and tomatoes get 30 minutes of oven time before the fish is added. Their juices with the olive oil and wine make a delicious sauce for the cooked fish.

“Carving” a whole fish is easy, but messy, so do it in the kitchen and serve the fish plated. While filleting the fish, keep the onions, tomatoes and pan juices warm in the oven. Have ready a heated platter to put the fish on. 

Here´s how: If you’ve roasted the fish with head on, remove and discard the head. Scrape the skin from the top fillet. (Discard the lemon slices in the slits.) Use a knife tip to pull away the dorsal fins (all down the back). Slide the knife blade flat along the spine to loosen the top fillet. Divide it lengthwise. Use a spatula or large spoon to lift off the top fillets. (It’s fine to remove them in several pieces.) Place them on the heated platter. With the knife tip, lift the spine in one piece and remove it. 

For the bottom half of the fish, remove any obvious fins and bones (fingers are useful for this) and divide it lengthwise. Gently ease each half off the bottom skin and place the pieces of the bottom fillet on the heated platter. With bonito and similar fish, you may wish to cut away the narrow strip of much darker flesh, the “bloodline.” It is edible, but has a stronger flavor than the rest of the flesh.

Divide the onions, lemons and tomatoes between four dinner plates (preferably heated). Place the fillets on top. Spoon the juices from the baking dish over the fish. 

If you plan to serve the fish cold, de-bone it while still warm. Store the fillets covered and refrigerated.

Serve filleted fish on top of the roasted vegetables. Pour pan juices over the serving.

Roasted fish stays moist.

Roasted Whole Fish

Bonito al Horno

Serves 4.

2 onions

5 tablespoons olive oil

1 clove garlic, slivered

1 lemon

Salt

1 large tomato, sliced

1 bay leaf

1 whole fish, gutted and scaled (about 2 ½ pounds)

½ cup white wine

1 bay leaf

2 tablespoons chopped parsley

Preheat oven to 400ºF.

Roast layer of onions first.

Cut the onions in half and slice them lengthwise. Put 1 tablespoon of oil in the bottom of a baking dish or roasting pan big enough to hold the fish. Spread the sliced onions in the pan. Add slivers of garlic. Cut the lemon in half and slice it thinly. Add half of the slices to the onions. Sprinkle with salt. Drizzle 2 tablespoons of oil over the onions. Place in the oven for 20 minutes.

Place sliced tomato on top of the onions and tuck in a bay leaf. Return to the oven for 10 minutes longer.

Place fish, with or without the head, on top of roasted tomatoes and onions. The slits in the flesh help the fish cook thoroughly.

 

While onions are roasting, cut deep slits in the skin and flesh of the fish. Sprinkle inside and out with salt. Insert lemon slices in the slits on one side of the fish. Place the fish on top of the onions and tomatoes in the baking dish. Pour the wine over the fish. Drizzle the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil over the fish. Sprinkle with the parsley.

Roast the fish until the flesh easily separates from the spine, 25 to 30 minutes. (Use a thin skewer to test it.) Remove the fish from the oven and place it on a heated platter. Turn off the oven and leave the baking dish with the onions in the oven to keep warm.

Fish is easy to fillet once cooked. A messy job, so do it in the kitchen and plate the fish.

Remove skin and bones from the fish. Separate the flesh into fillets. Divide the onions, lemons and tomatoes between four plates. Place fillets on top, spoon pan juices over the fish and serve immediately.

Filleted bonito, enough to serve four.

Onions, tomatoes and wine make the "sauce" for the fish.

More recipes for cooking whole fish:

Horse Mackerel, Biscay Style

Fish Baked in Salt.

Fish Baked with Potatoes.

Baked Fish with Chermoula.

Mackerel in Escabeche.

Whole Trout Stuffed with Serrano Ham.

Grilled Trout Wrapped in Grape Leaves.

Roasted Red Mullet with Picada Sauce.

Pan-Fried Sole.

Another recipe with bonito:

Marinated Bonito with Olives.

SOMETHING'S FISHY

Bonito, a great fish.

I think I’ve finally got all my ducks in a row. Or, fish, actually.

Last month when I was in Sevilla for a few days, I encountered tapas of a fish called melva. I found melva in the fish market there too, but I’ve never seen it in my local market. Melva somewhat resembles bonito, a fresh fish that I buy frequently. But, is that the same as bonito del norte, the canned fish that I buy regularly for “tuna salad”?

I pulled out my fishy reference books—Alan Davidson’s The Tio Pepe Guide to the Seafood of Spain and Portugal (Santana Books); Seafood, A Connoisseur’s Guide and Cookbook, by Alan Davidson with sensational watercolors of fish by Charlotte Knox (Mitchell Beazley), and Manual del Pescado by José Carlos Capel (R&B Ediciones).  The Alan Davidson books are really helpful because they give fish names in several languages, including regional variations in nomenclature.

I also consulted http://www.fishbase.org, an amazing on-line data-base of fish worldwide and their names—and variations—in many languages. (That was where I found out that “rosada,” a widely marketed fish in Spain, is the “pink cusk-eel” and comes from the south Atlantic. When a market fish vendor tries to tell me it’s “fresh,” I know better, as it is always frozen, then thawed.)

Here’s the ducky list.

Melva is Auxis rochei, the frigate mackerel (although not actually a mackerel). According to Davidson, it is abundant in the Bay of Cádiz—which explains why it’s so ubiquitous in Sevilla.

Bonito is Sarda sarda (note—not tuna), known in English as bonito or Atlantic bonito. In Japan, bonito is an important ingredient in the cuisine. In Spain, this is an excellent blue fish, very meaty, fairly economical.

Bonito del norte is Thunnus alalunga, albacore tuna or long-finned tuna. In Spain, it’s known as atún blanco, white tuna (to differentiate it from “red tuna,” blue-finned tuna). In summer, albacore is fished off the northern Cantabrian coast. Much of it goes to the canning industry, but, fresh, it is used in the wonderful Basque dish, marmitako, tuna with potatoes.

As I’ve said before: Love the fish you’re with! I’ve got me a pretty bonito (no, I did not find out why bonito—which means “pretty”—is called bonito). Note the dark longitudinal stripes.

While flipping through the pages of Capel’s fish manual, I came across a fine recipe for bonito, calling for olives. As you may remember from last week, I’m on an olive roll, so this suited me just fine.

Bonito and its “blue” relatives, such as mackerel, sardines and tuna, are often prepared in escabeche, a vinegar marinade for cooked fish. This recipe is reversed—more like an adobo, as it is marinated—but only briefly—before cooking. The marinade is reduced to make the sauce.

(This recipe is adapted from one published in Manual del Pescado, by José Carlos Capel and attributed to La Cocina Andaluza by Miguel Salcedo Hierro).

Fillets of bonito with olive sauce.

Bonito Fresco con Aceitunas
Marinated Bonito with Olives

Serves 4 as a starter or 2 as a main dish.

1 whole bonito, about 2 pounds
½ teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
½ cup white wine
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
2 cloves garlic, slivered
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
Sprigs of thyme
Fennel flowers (optional)
½ cup water
1 cup pitted Manzanilla olives, sliced
Flour, for dredging
Olive oil, for frying

Cut off and discard head and guts. Cut the flesh into four fillets, leaving the skin on. (Besides the center spine, the bonito has a row of bones running down the middle of each half.)

Fish fillets in marinade.

 Place the fillets in a single layer in a non-reactive bowl (glass or earthenware). Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add the oil, wine, vinegar, garlic, bay leaf, parsley, thyme and fennel, if using. Cover and refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours.

Remove the fillets from the marinade. Place the marinade in a small saucepan with the water. Bring to a boil, then simmer until reduced by half, about 10 minutes. Strain the liquid and discard the garlic and herbs. Return the liquid to the pan and add the olives. Simmer gently.

Dredge the bonito fillets in flour and fry in hot oil until golden on both sides. Serve hot or cold with the olive sauce.

Crispy on the outside, moist fish on the inside. Olives are a piquant sauce.