Until a few months ago I’d almost never cooked fish despite the fact that I really like it, but recently I’ve ventured in this new territory, and I’m doing pretty well. I started with very basic recipes, but now I’ve progressed onto a couple of more elaborated dishes. Here is one of my favourites, very simple, yet full of classic Mediterranean flavour: orata alle olive (sea bream with olives).

Ingredienti:
un’orata del peso di 800-900 gr; 250 gr di pomodorini maturi e sodi; 70 gr di olive nere denocciolate; mezza cipolla; 3 cucchiai di vino bianco secco; 1 spicchio d’aglio; 1 mazzetto di prezzemolo; 4 cucchiai di olio d’oliva extravergine; sale e pepe.

Ingredients:
an 800-900 gram sea bream; 250 grams of small ripe, but firm tomatoes; 70 grams of pitted black olives; half an onion; 3 tbsps of dry white wine; 1 clove of garlic; 1 small bunch of parsley; 4 tbsps of extra virgin olive oil; salt and pepper.

Preparation:
Scale and gut the fish (luckily I always get the fishmonger, a dear friend of ours, do this for me). Rinse the fish inside and out under running water.

Peel the onion, and slice it finely. Chop the tomatoes into quarters, remove the seeds. Slice the olives.

Wash the parsley and remove the stalks, then peel the garlic. Finely chop the parsley and the garlic together.

Spread a couple of tablespoons of olive oil onto a baking tray. Cover the base of the tray with the sliced onion, chopped tomatoes, olives, and half of the parsley and garlic mixture.

Sprinkle both the inside and outside of the sea bream with salt and pepper, and place it on the top of the vegetables on the baking tray.

Drizzle the fish with the remaining olive oil and white wine, then sprinkle the leftover garlic and parsley mixture over the top.

Bake the fish in a preheated oven at 180-200°C (360-400°F) for about 25 minutes, occasionally pouring some of the juices that accumulate in the tray over the top of the fish.

Captions, from left to right: “I can’t eat it, I’m vegan” … “Has the fish been tested for mercury contamination?” … “Is the bread gluten free?”

Notes:
It’s important not to overcook the fish, or its flesh will become too tough. For this reason, I prefer to cover the baking tray with foil for the first 15 minutes, then I remove it for the remaining time.

You can also use other white fish, such as hake or sea bass, for this dish.

Buon appetito!