Mammissima by Elisabetta Minervini

Author:Elisabetta Minervini
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781408855577
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Published: 2016-05-16T16:00:00+00:00

Sea bass in a salt crust >

Sea bass in a salt crust

Spigola sotto sale

Serves: 4

Prep: 5 mins

Cooking: about 1 hour

My father once told me how, before refrigerators and freezers became a common presence in every household, fish was preserved in salt. As a teenager, after a week’s work at sea in a fishing boat, he would bring home a few kilos of anchovies as a food reserve for the months ahead. The fish, without being washed, was gutted and placed on a layer of coarse sea salt in tall earthenware pots. A new layer of salt was added on top, then another one of fish and so on. The fish was weighed down by heavy stones for around two weeks so that it would release its moisture. It would then be ready to be dried and preserved.

In this traditional recipe, salt forms the coating in which the fish is baked. As ever, the success of the dish depends entirely on the freshness of the fish. Children love the task of packing the fish in salt, and then digging it out from the salt crust later.

1kg rock salt

1 large sea bass (about 1.2kg), gutted but with head, skin and scales left on

Olive oil

3 sprigs of flat parsley leaves, chopped

2 carrots, cut into rounds

1 lemon, sliced

Preheat the oven to 180°C/Gas 4. Place a sheet of baking parchment on a baking tray and cover it with half of the rock salt. Lay the sea bass on top and cover it with the remaining salt, making sure that none of the fish is visible. Seal the tray tightly with a sheet of foil.

Put the tray in the oven for about 1 hour. If you are not sure whether the sea bass is cooked, prod it with a cocktail stick here and there. If it’s cooked, the cocktail stick will enter the flesh easily.

Remove the foil and break the salt crust open with a knife or fork. Remove all salt crystals from the surface of the fish, which at this point will be tasty and moist.

Place the sea bass on a plate and fillet it. Sprinkle over some olive oil and chopped parsley and garnish with slices of lemon and carrot before serving.

Mamma says

For the perfect side, try the potato salad with shallots.

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