Mi pescado a la sal (My fish baked in salt)
This Spanish technique of baking fish in a thick layer of salt is not only quite theatrical, it will also give you the most perfectly cooked fish ever. The salt is there to create a little kiln or oven around the fish so don't worry; you won't be eating any of it. Make sure the fish isn't scaled because the scales help keep the moisture inside the fish as it cooks. This is a great principle. Obviously sizes of fish and temperatures of ovens vary but as long as you keep an eye on things and test the fish before removing the salt, by inserting a knife into it and touching it to your lip, you should be just fine.
Estimated Nutrition (whole recipe, rough)
Counts 12 of 14 ingredients — the other 2 aren't in our nutrition table and contribute nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume — 12 portions →
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Olive Oil | 1 tbsp (14g) | 119 |
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| Fennel | 1/2 bulb (87g) | 27 |
| Cucumber | 1/2 cup sliced (52g) | 16 |
| Lemon | juice of 1 lemon (48ml) | 12 |
| Pepper | 1 tsp ground (2.3g) | 6 |
| Black Pepper | 1 tsp ground (2.3g) | 6 |
| Garlic | 1 clove (3g) | 4 |
| Olive | 1 large (4g) | 4 |
| Basil | 5 leaves fresh (2.5g) | 1 |
| Parsley | 1 tbsp chopped fresh (3.8g) | 1 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 0 |
| Seed | not in our table | 0 |
| Saffron | not in our table | 0 |
Totals for the whole recipe, adding one typical portion per ingredient — listed above. Quantities in the recipe are not counted, so this is a rough guide only — not suitable for medical or dietary planning.
Ingredients
- 1 kg coarse rock salt
- 2 large free-range eggs
- 1½ tablespoons fennel seeds
- 1 lemon
- 600g sea bass, or 2 portion-sized bream, from
- , ask your fishmonger, gutted, scales left on, gills out
- 1 small bunch fresh basil
- 1 small bunch fresh flat-leaf parsley
- 3 large cloves garlic, peeled
- 1 pinch saffron
- sea salt
- 50 ml olive oil
- 50 ml good-quality Spanish extra virgin olive oil
- ½ cucumber, peeled
- 1 large handful green olives, stoned
- 2 jarred red peppers
- a few sprigs fresh flat-leaf parsley, leaves picked and chopped
- freshly ground black pepper