The first time I tasted Pesce al Sale was at a restaurant in Milan. I remember the dramatic presentation of the baked fish encrusted in salt and cracked open tableside, revealing a steaming, aromatic and succulent fish. This preparation is my favorite way to eat a whole fish, and it's easy to do at home. Have your fishmonger clean and scale your fish for you. Once cooked, filet the fish and serve simply with extra-virgin olive oil, lemon and parsley gremolata. Note that since the fish cavity is stuffed the cooking time will run about 10 minutes longer than unstuffed. —TasteFood
Whole Baked Fish in Sea Salt with Parsley Gremolata by TasteFood
This method for cooking a whole fish has the dual benefit of being both effective and fun. (Basically, it provides an opportunity to play with your food.) Another plus is flexibility, as it's the method that really counts here: cooking a whole fish in a salt crust keeps it incredibly tender and moist. TasteFood calls for a 5 pound fish, but we used a 2.5 pound red snapper, halved the rest of the ingredients and decreased the cooking time to roughly 25 minutes. The simple gremolata is a bright, refreshing adornment for an otherwise gorgeously simple piece of fish. - A&M —The Editors
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