Sea Bass Roasted in a Pouch
This episode was the second we shot as a run up to my trip to southern Italy. After a week in Rome were spending time in Naples, Ravello on the Amalfi Coast and ending at a beach house near Gaeta in northern Campania.
I cooked suppli al telefono, fried Arborio rice balls from Rome. Now it’s the time to cook from the region around the Bay of Naples.
I used a whole branzino, a fish similar to sea bass, from off the coast of southern Italy. If you don’t want to mess with a whole fish, I also prepared the dish with sea bass fillets. Everything goes in a foil pouch with garlic, olives, tomatoes and potatoes that roasts in the oven. A full dinner is ready in less than an hour.
Bass Roasted in a Pouch
Author:
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds Halibut or cod fillets
- 3 Yukon Gold potatoes
- 12 ripe cherry tomatoes
- 2 cloves garlic crushed
- 8 pitted Gaeta olives (or your favorite)
- 1 sprig Italian parsley
- 1 sprig fresh thyme or oregano
- 2 tablespoons EVOO
- 2 tablespoons dry white wine
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Cooking Directions
- Heat the oven to 425 degrees.
- Cut the potatoes in half and then the halves in 1/2 inch slices.
- Cut the cherry tomatoes in half.
- Put the potatoes and tomatoes on a baking sheet and toss with a drizzle of EVOO and some sea salt.
- Put the pan under the broiler until they start to brown. Toss them at least once to get color all over the potatoes and the tomatoes and they soften a bit. Take them out and set them aside. The potatoes should be almost knife tender.
- Cut the olives in half.
- Cut a piece of parchment paper or foil large enough to wrap the fish and vegetables.
- Lay down the parsley, thyme or oregano on the parchment. Top with the fish fillets. Scatter the potatoes, tomatoes. olives and garlic around the side of fillets.
- Drizzle the wine and some EVOO all over. Sprinkle with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.
- Wrap the parchment or foil around the fish and vegetables and seal tightly to keep in the moisture as the fish roasts.
- Put the parchment or foil packet on the baking sheet and bake in the hot oven for about 15 minutes. Remove the packet from the oven when the fish is just cooked through and begins to flake.
- Open the pouch. Be careful not to let the juices leak out of the pouch.
- Gently lift out the fillets in one piece with a spatula leaving the herbs and garlic behind and put the fillets on a serving platter. Scatter the potatoes, tomatoes and olives around the fillets. Top with the roasting juices and a drizzle of EVOO.
- Serve immediately.
- Serves 4.