Baked Branzino

Recipe Overview

Baked Branzino is prepared from a whole cleaned sea bass, gently baked with lemon and rosemary, rested, skinned and filleted for service. It is paired with slow-cooked zucchini confiture, a mushroom and russet-potato braise, glazed Campari tomatoes and Castelvetrano olives, with optional garlic-sautéed baby spinach.

Ingredients

• Whole Branzino — 600 g — cleaned and scaled; baked whole, then filleted for service whole_branzino
• Fresh Lemon — 30 g — sliced for stuffing FRUIT-CITRUS-LEMON-FRESH
• Rosemary / Rosmarino — 3 g — fresh sprigs for stuffing TC-HERB-ROSEMARY-001
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil — 120 ml — divided OIL-0001
• Campari Tomatoes — 250 g — cut into wedges; Campari tomato icon active campari_tomatoes
• Castelvetrano Olives — 80 g — pitted; Castelvetrano olive icon active castelvetrano_olives
• Button Mushrooms — 200 g — sliced button_mushrooms
• Russet Potatoes — 300 g — peeled and diced russet_potatoes
• Yellow Onion — 120 g — diced yellow_onion
• Tomato Paste — 20 g tomato_paste
• Vegetable Stock — 250 ml — prepared stock; source recipe allows water as an alternative for braising vegetable_stock
• Zucchini / Zucchina — 400 g — diced for zucchini confiture TC-VEG-ZUCCHINI-001
• Garlic — 6 g — sliced TC-VEG-GARLIC-001
• Baby Spinach — 115 g — optional garnish baby_spinach
• Italian Flat-Leaf Parsley — 28 g — chopped HERB-PARSLEY-FLAT
• Culinary Salt — to taste — to taste SPICE-SALT-0001
• Freshly Ground Black Pepper — to taste — to taste; freshly ground SPICE-PEPPERCORN-BLACK

Preparation

1. Prepare and season the branzino: Preheat the oven to 325°F (165°C). Clean and descale the branzino if needed. Pat dry. Season the cavity with salt and pepper and fill with lemon slices and rosemary sprigs.
2. Bake and rest the fish: Season the outside of the fish with salt and pepper and drizzle with a little olive oil. Wrap first in plastic if your kitchen protocol allows and then in foil, sealing well. Place on a baking tray and bake for about 20 minutes, then let rest, still wrapped, for 6 minutes.
3. Fillet the branzino: Carefully unwrap the fish, remove the skin, and fillet the branzino, keeping the fillets warm.
4. Cook the zucchini confiture: For the zucchini confiture, gently sweat the diced zucchini in a pan with a little olive oil, salt, and pepper over low heat for about 30 minutes, until very soft and almost jam-like. Keep warm.
5. Start the mushroom-potato braise: For the mushroom–potato braise, sauté the diced onion and sliced mushrooms in olive oil until the mushrooms release their water and it evaporates. Add the diced potato and cook a few minutes, stirring.
6. Finish the braise: Stir in the tomato paste, moisten with vegetable stock or water, and simmer until the potatoes are tender and the sauce coats them. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.
7. Warm the tomatoes and olives: In another pan, warm the Campari tomato wedges and Castelvetrano olives in a drizzle of olive oil with a little sliced garlic, just until glazed and aromatic. Finish with chopped parsley.
8. Wilt the spinach: If using spinach, quickly sauté the spinach leaves with a bit of olive oil and sliced garlic until just wilted. Season lightly.
9. Plate and finish: To serve, place a spoonful of zucchini confiture on the plate, set the warm branzino fillet on top, and arrange the tomato–olive mixture around. Add a spoonful of the braised potatoes and mushrooms and, if using, a small nest of garlic-sautéed spinach. Finish with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and more chopped parsley.

Nutrition (per serving, estimate)

Calories	360
Protein	34 g
Carbohydrates	14 g
Fat	18 g
Fiber	Not calculated
Cholesterol	Not calculated
Sodium	Varies by seasoning