Oven-baked fish is an indispensable dish for children, as well as for those who follow a diet, since most vitamins and microelements are preserved in this product. In addition, when properly baked, the fish acquires a unique taste and aroma. To bake fish according to all the rules, you just need to know some of the nuances of cooking it in the oven.
How to bake fish.
Almost any fish is suitable for baking in the oven, which can be put in the oven completely intact, with its head, fins and tail, without punctures or cuts. This is necessary in order for the fish to retain all its nutritional and taste properties due to its "tightness". As for its preparation for baking, it is recommended to wash the fish thoroughly and rub it with coarse salt (for the simplest recipe). To cook the fish evenly, place it higher in the oven. Thick and large fish should be baked on one side and then on the other side for twenty minutes, while flat fish require twenty-five minutes to bake without turning.
In the process of cooking, you need to keep an eye on the baking fish, checking its condition fifteen minutes after turning on the oven.
To check the readiness of the fish, you need to knock on the hardened salt crust with a knife or fork - if the fish is baked, the sound will sound resonant, and the salt will look dried and yellowed. After that, you need to remove the fish from the oven and leave it on a cutting board, where it will cool for ten minutes. After the expiration date, the head of the baked fish is carefully broken off, and the baked salt crust is carefully removed from one side. The insides, which are in a natural film, are carefully removed, and the peeled fish is placed on a flat dish on its side, freed from the salt crust. Then the remaining salt is removed and the fish is served with a side dish.
Recipe.
For a properly baked product, use bream / carp / mackerel / crucian carp or similar fish, 2 tomatoes, 2 cloves of garlic, 1 onion, salt, black pepper, fish seasoning to taste, mayonnaise, herbs and vegetable oil. Remove scales, entrails, eyes and gills, rinse the fish well under running water, dry it with a paper towel and rub on both sides with pepper and salt. Peel the tomatoes, scald them with boiling water and sprinkle them with cold water, then cut them into large cubes, peel and wash the onion and garlic, finely chop the onion, and pass the garlic through a press. Combine tomatoes with onions, garlic and finely chopped herbs, salt, pepper and sprinkle with fish seasoning.
The ideal side dish for baked fish is aromatic crumbly rice and any vegetables.
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees, fill the fish with the vegetable mixture right up to the head and place it on a greased baking sheet covered with parchment paper. Spread a thin layer of mayonnaise on top of the fish and bake for thirty to forty minutes (depending on the size of the fish). To make it bake as much as possible inside, pierce it from the upper side with a sharp knife in several places. Put the cooked fish whole on a large flat dish, garnish with canned olives and lemon circles, then let it cool slightly and serve warm.
