Besugo Al Horno (Serves 4)

October Recipe  

The idea for this recipe page developed from discussions with friends regarding the difficulties in obtaining various ingredients that were key elements of favourite recipes used in the UK.  We all need to adapt to local sources plus be open to new ideas but that is not always easy.  Hopefully, you will contribute suggestions to this page which will help us to find and vary those “must have” UK items.

One of my favourite cookbooks is Casa Moro by Samuel and Samantha Clark.  The Clarks have spent time in Las Alpujarras and many of the recipes in this their second cookbook reflect  influences from their time here as well as in Morocco.  Emma and David Illsley, Las Chimeneas, Mairena offered a cookery course featuring Sam Clark  beginning 2nd October for a week. Other links included below are to various UK sites but many of the recipes can be adapted or used as a basis for your own concoctions. If anyone has some good Spanish links do send them in.

One of the big advantages of living in Las Alpujarras is a good, regular supply of fresh vegetables and fish.  We have a twice weekly fish van visiting our village which always has quality and variety at a reasonable cost.  The featured recipe is taken from the Casa Moro cookbook(Page 174) which I prepared frequently last winter.  One pot cooking became a mainstay of my repertoire during the cold months, often finished off on the wood burner during power cuts!  I have not tried cooking Besugo Al Horno (Baked Bream with Potatoes and Tomatoes) other than in my usual oven.

Besugo Al Horno (Serves 4)

Bream cooked in the oven this way is traditional in Spain for Christmas.  It is easy to make and a treat to eat.  This dish is also good made with cod or hake steaks or filleted sea bass (as these fish will take about 15 minutes less to cook, you will have to roast the other ingredients for 15-20 minutes before you place the fish on top).

2 bream (red, golden or black), each big enough for 2 (around 500g each), scaled and gutted
4 large firm Cypress potatoes (about 1Kg), sliced into rounds 3mm thick
2 medium red onions, thinly sliced
6 medium sweet tomatoes, sliced in rounds about 5mm thick, or 12-18 cherry tomatoes, cut in half
2 garlic cloves, crushed to a paste with salt
2 bay leaves (preferably fresh, halved)
6 tablespoons of olive oil
A few parsley stalks
4 slices of lemon
½ fennel bulb, finely chopped, or ½ tablespoon of fennel seeds
Sea salt and black pepper

To Serve:
1 lemon quartered
2 tablespoons roughly chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
Preheat the oven to 220⁰C/425⁰F/Gas 7.

Season the fish well with salt and pepper inside and out, and lightly salt the potatoes.  Place the onions, potatoes, tomatoes, garlic and bay leaves in a large mixing bowl.  Pour on half the olive oil, season well with salt and pepper and carefully toss together.  Stuff the parsley stalks, lemon and fennel  inside the cavity of each fish.  Cover the bottom of a very large and roomy roasting tray with half the onions, potatoes and tomatoes, and spread out in a single layer.  Now place the bream on top, cover with the rest of the vegetables and drizzle on the remaining olive oil.  Place in the middle of the hot oven and roast for 35 minutes or until the fish is cooked.  Serve with lemon and chopped parsley on top, with a salad.

Links:
www.moro.co.uk
www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes
www.waitrose.com/recipe

References:
Moro The Cookbook ISBN  9780091880842
Casa Moro ISBN 9780091894498
Moro East               ISBN 978-0091917777
(Available from www.amazon.co.uk)

Jane Smith