I have been cooking a lot with Branzino these past few months: in a world where fish is so horribly expensive it is still reasonable, and my fishmonger will remove the head, spine and butterfly the whole fish for me, making Branzino an easy option to cook and eat "whole". This recipe is good with any white fish and you can make this with fillets rather than a whole fish as well. It basically comes down to whatever fish looks good and within my budget.
The vegetables that I use with this vary seasonally, and I do tend to incorporate any "bits and bobs" from the hydrator that need to be used up. I always include some form of leafy green to the dish as they seem to absorb the juices from the fish best and make this a more complex tasting dish. This time around I used pea leaves as the leafy green and a mix of shiitake mushrooms, snow peas, orange cauliflower and some carrot brunoise. Just make sure that you cut all of the vegetables properly so that they are done at the same time.
4 small fish or fish fillets
4 cups chopped leafy greens
4 cups assorted vegetables, diced, chopped, "brunoised" depending on the vegetables that you will be using and their various cooking times
4 Tbsps butter
2 Tbsps black vinegar (regular vinegar works as well if you don't have black vinegar but in that case I would use 4 tsps of vinegar instead)
1 Tablespoon sushi ginger (omit if you don't have some in your fridge but it does add a nice tang to the dish).
Salt to taste
Preheat oven to 350.
Set 4 sheets of parchment (or foil) - large enough to generously hold a portion of your fish of choice - side by side on your kitchen counter.
Place 1 cup of leafy greens in the center of each one. Spread the greens out to about the size of the piece of fish.
Top with a cup each of your chopped veggies of choice, followed by a piece of the fish.
Chop your butter and dot the top of each fish with the equivalent of one tablespoon butter. Sprinkle each one with 2 teaspoons of black vinegar or 1 teaspoon of regular vinegar, 1/4 of the pickled ginger (if using) and salt to taste.
Fold the parchment paper or foil of each fish parcel into an airtight package, place side by side on a baking tray and place in oven until the fish is cooked. Cooking time will depend on the fish that you use and its size. My Branzino took exactly 18 minutes and I was glad that I had taken the time to chop the carrots more finely than I planned to as they did cook through in that time.
I serve this dish directly in its parchment, as per the image above, as opening it is like opening a fragrant and delectable present.
Photo by L. in an artistic mood.