Baked Sea Bream with Potatoes
Orata alla pugliese
Sea bream is one of the most delicate white fish thanks to its fine, aromatic, low fat meat. It’s very popular in southern Italy, and this recipe demonstrates why.
Sea Bream with potatoes is a traditional recipe from Puglia characterized by the usual combination of fish and grated cheese. The fish should preferably be prepared whole, but fillets can be used, if you reduce the cooking time. In places and periods, when the sea bream is not available hake, halibut or haddock can be used instead. Similarly the South Italian cacioricotta made from a mixture of sheep and goats milk can be replaced with pecorino.
Ingredients
1 Sea Bream (Orata) (approx. 1 kg)
500 g potatoes
2 cloves of garlic
A bunch of parsley
50 g grated cacioricotta
Olive oil, salt and pepper
Preparation
Ask the fishmonger to clean the fish, but rinse it and pad it dry with kitchen paper before cooking.
Make a paste of chopped parsley, crushed garlic and olive oil
Peel and slice the potatoes and boil them for no more than 5 minutes in salted water.
Place layers of potato slices in a greased ovenproof dish.
Sprinkle with the garlic, parsley and olive oil paste.
Top the potatoes with grated cacioricotta and the fresh sea bream.
Heat the oven to 225 C/ 240 F and bake the fish for 30 minutes.
Orata alla pugliese should be served piping hot and carved at the table. Is goes well with a glass of dry white wine like the ones from Locorotondo.
The baked sea bream is ready to be carved and eaten with gratinated potatoes.
Italian Notes
Italian Notes
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