The fish goes into the oven when the potatoes are half cooked, so it doesn't burn. Ask your fishmonger to clean the bonito and cut it into pieces about 3 cm thick.
Ingredients
- 1.2 kgbonito, cleaned and cut into 3 cm thick pieces
- 2 tspsalt (1 tsp for the fish and 1 tsp for the potatoes)
- ½lemon, juiced
- 800 gpotatoes, peeled and cut into 5 mm thick rounds
- 2onions, cut into half-moons
- 6 tbspsunflower oil (4 tbsp for the potatoes and 2 tbsp for the fish)
- 2bay leaves
- 4 clovesgarlic, thinly sliced
- 3ripe tomatoes (about 400 g), cut into rounds
- 100 mldry white wine (half a teacup)
- ½ tspground black pepper
- 3 tbspparsley, finely chopped
You will need: a 25×35 cm baking tray, foil or a cloth to cover it
Method
Season the fish
Lay 1.2 kg of bonito on a large plate. Sprinkle with 1 tsp of salt, pour over the juice of ½ lemon and leave for 15 minutes while you cut the vegetables.
Cut the vegetables
Cut 800 g of potatoes into 5 mm rounds, 2 onions into half-moons and 4 cloves of garlic into thin slices. Cut 3 tomatoes into rounds too, but set them aside.
Make the rounds the same thickness, or some of the potatoes will stay hard.
Roast the potatoes
Grease the tray with 4 tbsp of oil. Spread out the potatoes and onions, season with 1 tsp of salt, add 2 bay leaves and toss with your hands. Bake at 200°C for 20 minutes, until the edges of the potatoes start to brown.
Add the fish
Take out the tray. Lay the 3 tomatoes and the 4 cloves of garlic over the potatoes, then put the bonito pieces on top, skin side up. Drizzle with 2 tbsp of oil, sprinkle with ½ tsp of black pepper and pour 100 ml of wine around the fish, not over it.
Pour the wine to the side so it doesn't wash the salt and lemon off the skin.
Bake the fish
Put the tray back in the oven at 200°C for 25 minutes. The fish is done when the flesh comes away from the bone with a gentle nudge of a fork and the potatoes are soft when pierced.
Sprinkle and rest
Take out the tray and sprinkle with 3 tbsp of finely chopped parsley. Leave it for 5 minutes in a warm place so the juices in the tray settle. Remove the bay leaves before serving.
How to serve
Serve straight from the tray in deep plates, with two pieces of fish and some potatoes each, drizzled with the juices from the bottom, and with a lemon wedge on the side.
How to store
Cooled fish keeps for up to 1 day in the fridge in a closed container. Reheat it in the oven at 160°C for 10 minutes, covered with foil so it doesn't dry out. Don't freeze it, because the potatoes go soft and fall apart.
What you can use instead
- Instead of bonito: bluefish or large mackerel in pieces. Bake them for the same time.
- Instead of wine: 100 ml of water with 1 tbsp of lemon juice.
- Instead of fresh tomatoes: 1 can of peeled tomatoes (400 g), roughly chopped.
Questions and answers
How do I know the bonito is cooked?
Push a fork into the thickest part. If the flesh is opaque and comes away easily from the bone, the fish is done.
Can I use frozen bonito?
Yes, but thaw it whole in the fridge overnight and pat it well with paper towels. Otherwise a lot of water will come out into the tray.
Why are my potatoes still hard?
Most often the rounds are thicker than 5 mm or the oven wasn't at 200°C. Put the tray back for another 10 minutes, covered with foil.
Can I make it ahead?
Cut the vegetables and season the fish in the morning and keep them in the fridge. Don't start baking until the evening, so the potatoes don't go soft.
Did you know?
Bonito is a Black Sea fish caught off the Bulgarian coast in autumn. Baked with potatoes and tomatoes, it is a common dish on the Burgas coast.
Per serving (approx.): 520 kcal · protein 38 g · fat 24 g · carbohydrates 37 g
Comments (1)
Един час ли? Наистина ли толкова бързо става паламуда на фурна?! Странно ми се струва...