Best Salt Baked Fish With Lemon Olive Relish Recipes

MUFFULETTA RELISH

Steps:

• Pulse 1/2 cup each pimento-stuffed olives and pitted kalamata olives in a food processor with 1/2 cup pickled vegetables (giardiniera) , 2 tablespoons each capers, minced onion and olive oil, 1 tablespoon lemon juice and a pinch of dried oregano.

OLIVE RELISH

Steps:

• Cook 2 chopped onions in a skillet with 2 tablespoons olive oil and 1/2 teaspoon salt over low heat, covered, 10 minutes. Uncover and cook until golden, 30 more minutes. Add 1 minced garlic clove, 1 tablespoon tomato paste, 1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives and 1/4 cup white wine; cook 10 more minutes.

WOOD-ROASTED STRIPED BASS WITH MEYER LEMON AND OLIVE RELISH

Steps:

• For first step in this recipe is to set up your outdoor grill, a hibachi or kettle grill with do just fine. Use natural hardwood charcoal. Start the fire with kindling and paper; light it with only matches-not lighter fluid. Lighter fluid will give the food an unnatural chemical taste. Get the charcoal to a medium heat and set the grill rack about 4 inches above the coals.
• Make a few slits into the sides of the fish and insert the garlic slices into the incisions. Rub the fish with salt and oil. Grill for about 8 minutes per side. After turning the fish, rub olive oil and salt onto the spring onions and grill with the fish for the remaining 8 minutes. Remove fish and onions from the grill and onto a warm plate.
• For the relish simply mix all of the ingredients together and scoop onto the hot fish (can be made a day inn advance).

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.

FISH WITH LEMON-PARSLEY RELISH

Steps:

• With a sharp knife, cut off top and bottom of lemon, then slice away peel and white pith. Cut out lemon segments and chop; transfer to a small bowl. Squeeze juice from membranes into bowl. Stir in parsley, 1 1/2 tablespoons oil, and capers, if using; season relish with salt and pepper.
• In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium-high. Add shallot and cook until softened, 2 to 4 minutes. Gradually add spinach and cook, tossing, until just wilted, 4 to 6 minutes; season with salt and pepper. Transfer to a bowl and cover to keep warm. Wipe skillet clean.
• Season fish with salt and pepper. Fold each fillet into thirds. Place fish in skillet and pour in wine; bring to a boil over high. Cover, reduce heat to low, and cook until fish is just opaque, 4 to 6 minutes. Serve with lemon-parsley relish and spinach.

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.