Fish dishes
Ștefan Baciu, 29.11.2018, 17:59
The Nativity Fast has started for orthodox Christians.
While all meat is forbidden, fish is permitted on certain days. One of the most
delicious ways of preparing fish is oven-baking. While it may have more bones
than other types of fish, the flounder, which is similar to the carp or the
golden fish, is suitable for baking in the oven. You will need one or two
larger flounders of about one kilo each. Scale it, take out the gills and
eviscerate them. Wash the fish and then make several cuts on the back, in order
to remove the smaller bones. Add salt, oil and thyme and then place the fish in
an oven tray. Finely cut several tomatoes and spread them over the fish. Also,
finely chop several garlic cloves, as well as some chili pepper. You may use
tomato juice instead of tomatoes; you may also add a glass of wine in the tray.
Bake on low to medium heat for about three quarters of an hour until the fish
is ready. This dish best goes with polenta.
Carp is also
delicious when baked in the oven. One way of cooking the carp is to put it in
an oven tray, over a layer of potatoes cut into thick slices. Add tomato juice
and a little bit of thyme and bake for around 45 minutes.
Stuffed carp
is another option, also baked. You will need a 2-kilo carp. Scale it, eviscerate and wash it, then salt the carp on
the inside as well as on the outside. The stuffing, made of onion and fresh
parsley, needs to be prepared separately. Finely cut the onion and the parsley,
mix them with salt and pepper, then put them straight inside the carp.
We have
another option for the stuffing, made of mushrooms and rice. To prepare that,
we need about half a kilo of mushrooms, half a kilo of tomatoes, a cup of rice,
two onions, one head of garlic, fresh parsley and pepper. Cut the mushrooms in
slices and then stir-fry them in oil for a little while, together with the
sliced onion. Sautee everything with a bit of water, add the rice, the
finely-cut parsley and a bit of salt, then pour tomato juice and white wine in
the tray. Sprinkle the resulting juice over the carp. When it turns golden
brown, it means it is ready to serve. Enjoy!
