Cooking Gilt-head Bream

Illustration of a raw gilt-head bream fish

Illustration: Werner – Public Domain | enlarged to square

BEFORE COOKING:

Completely defrost the frozen gilt-head bream. Clean, rinse, and cut it into portions. If cooking the fish whole, remove the gills (they would give the dish a bitter taste).

COOKING:

Place it in boiling vegetable stock (with plenty of onion), or in a mixture of water and white wine, water and milk, or even just wine. The liquid may cover the fish up to half its depth. Cook over low heat so you don’t break the delicate flesh: fillets and steaks – 20 minutes, very large pieces or a whole fish – 40 minutes. Add garlic mashed with salt and a bit of sugar. You can add lemon or onion slices, peppercorns, dill, marjoram, or other spices. Dried mushrooms can also be added. Cook with the lid tightly on. The gilt-head bream is done when it turns lighter in color and the flesh flakes apart easily.

AFTER COOKING:

Carefully remove the fish with a slotted spoon. You can use the cooking liquid to make a sauce.

SERVING SUGGESTION:

Boiled fish goes perfectly with butter sauce, dill sauce, or olive oil combined with chives or mint. Serve it with raw vegetable salads or with rice, potatoes, lentils, or millet.

Enjoy your meal!