Whole Fish Baked in Salt

[Oasis]

An old Greek/ Italian recipe.
You'd think the fish will taste salty... Not at all, the fish only absorb enough salt to taste just perfect.
Works very well with Porgy or Seabass.

•One whole fish weighing about 1 1/2 pounds, cleaned, head, tail, and scales left on
•10 whole Tellicherry peppercorns
•4 bay leaves
•2 pounds coarse salt (I recommend sea salt)
•Extra virgin olive oil for serving
•Chervil sprigs for garnish
1 sliced lemon.

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 lemon slice &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 and two lemon slice . 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.

Found a link to this vedio http://www.finecooking.com/item/3044...t-crusted-fish
he used trout but you get the message.. ENJOY.

[MVP]

I have tried this with blackfish and it was outstanding. Vig bonus is that you do not loose any of the meet that is disgarded when filleting fish. All that rib cage meet and head and cheak meat does not go to waste. Totally a home run and presentation when you serve is a winner.