Orata alla barese
Bari Style Sea Bream
Ingredients
- 1 sea bream, aka porgy about 600-900g (1-1/2 to 2 lbs) cleaned and scaled
- 600g 1-1/2 lbs yellow fleshed potatoes peeled and thinly sliced
- 3-4 heaping Tbs grated pecorino cheese
- A few sprigs of parsley
- 3 cloves garlic peeled
- white wine
- olive oil
- salt and pepper
Instructions
- In a large bowl, toss the sliced potatoes with salt, pepper and enough olive oil to coat them lightly.
- Mince the parsley leaves and 2 garlic cloves together finely. (Reserve the parsley stems.)
- Take a large baking dish, grease the bottom with olive oil. Line the bottom with about half the potatoes, sprinkle with a spoonful or two of the pecorino cheese, along with half of the parsley and garlic mince.
- Season the sea bream with salt and pepper on all sides and inside its cavity. Insert a garlic clove and the parsley stems inside the cavity. Lay the fish in the baking dish.
- Now lay the rest of the potatoes over the fish, if you like in a decorative pattern, letting them slightly overlap and covering the body of the fish. Sprinkle the potato covering with the rest of the pecorino cheese, parsley and garlic. Pour a bit of white wine along the side of the dish, just enough to moisten the bottom, then drizzle everything generously with olive oil.
- Roast in a moderately hot (190C/375F) oven for about 30 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender and lightly browned on top and the fish is cooked through. .
- Remove from the oven and let the dish settle for a few minutes before serving