Turkish · Dinner
Salt-Crusted Whole Sea Bream
Balik Buharda Firin
Aegean whole sea bream baked in a cracked-open salt crust with lemon, fennel, and herbs, served with herbed roasted new potatoes and a lemon-olive oil dressing for a coastal centrepiece.
$$$
20 minsPrep
40 minsCook
60 minsTotal
HardLevel
Nutrition per serving
520Calories
38gProtein
22gFat
32gCarbs
4gSugar
6gFiber
850mgSodium
72mgChol
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Instructions
1
Prep
Heat oven to 220C. Pat both bream dry. Slice 1 lemon, halve fennel bulbs and potatoes, mince garlic. Mix half the dill, parsley, lemon slices, half the garlic, bay leaves, and pepper. Stuff both bream cavities with this mixture. Whisk egg whites and cold water until frothy, then mix in coarse salt with hands until it resembles damp sand.
2
Build
Spread one-third of salt mixture across two wet baking trays (one fish per tray). Lay each bream over its salt bed and pack remaining salt firmly over both fish, sealing edges and leaving tails visible.
3
Roast
Toss potatoes and fennel with olive oil, oregano, fine sea salt, and remaining garlic in a separate tray. Roast all three trays at 220C for 30–32 minutes until salt crust turns hard and pale gold and potatoes are tender.
4
Rest
Remove trays from oven and rest 5 minutes off the heat. While resting, whisk dressing: juice from remaining lemon, olive oil, and red wine vinegar in a small bowl until thick and emulsified.
5
Plate
Crack salt crust on each fish with a heavy knife, lift away crust pieces, peel skin from the top fillets. Lift fillets onto warm platters, pile potatoes and fennel alongside, scatter remaining herbs, drizzle lemon-olive oil dressing, and serve immediately.
Recipes use AI and Edamam. Always check for allergens before cooking. Spotted something wrong—email us at hello@grubplanit.com.
Serves
2 portions ·
2 adults, 0 over 10, 0 under 10
Ingredients
- 760g (26.8 oz) whole sea bream
- 2 small lemons
- 20g (small handful) fresh dill
- 20g (small handful) flat-leaf parsley
- 2 small bay leaves
- 1 tsp ground black pepper
- 1500g (53 oz) coarse sea salt
- 4 large egg whites
- 60ml (1/4 cup) cold water
- 400g (14.1 oz) baby new potatoes
- 2 medium fennel bulbs
- 6 garlic cloves
- 60ml (1/4 cup) extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp fine sea salt
- 2 tsp red wine vinegar