Fish "plaki" (Greek-style baked fish with tomato and potatoes)
"Plaki" is a Greek way of cooking fish in the oven with tomatoes, potatoes and herbs. It's a popular cooking for big or medium-sized fish such as red snapper, blackfish, cod, flatfish (common sole), sea bream, sword fish (we suggest you don't use salmon, tuna or fish with pink/red meat).
It's a very easy, tasty and light recipe, ideal for a summer meal. We cooked it using the medium-sized, humble, mackerel. The result was very good and we want to share it with you.
- 1kg/35oz/2.2lb fish
- 60gr/2oz parsley (1/2 bunch)
- 60gr/2oz dill (1/2 bunch)
- 4-5 large garlic cloves
- 1 cup olive oil (250ml)
- 3 medium-sized onions (250gr)
- 500gr/17.5oz/1.1lb (2-3 medium-sized) potatoes
- 400gr/14oz fresh tomatoes, grated
- 70gr/2.4oz tomato paste (3 tablespoons)
- 2 bay leaves
- 1/2 cup (125ml) water
- salt, pepper
Preparation: In this recipe the preparation stage is very important. Before baking the fish in the oven, you have to scale it and clean it thoroughly and if needed, slice it into fillets. Slightly season with salt and place it in large a baking pan.
Since the fish is now prepared, it's time to cut and slice the vegetables and the herbs.
Cut the parsley and the dill into thick pieces (2-3cm/0.8-1inch long). Cut the garlic into slices, the onions and the potatoes into thick slices (about 0.5cm/0.2inch for the onions and 1cm/0.5inch for the potatoes). Mix the tomato paste into the grated tomatoes.
When all the ingredients are ready, put them in the pan on top of the fish. Add the olive oil, the salt, the pepper and the bay leaves. Mix them well (it's better to do that with your hands). Add the water and shake a bit to spread the ingredients in the pan.
Place the pan in the oven at 180 degrees Celsius (350 Fahrenheit) for 1 hour.
About 20 minutes before it's done turn the fish and the potatoes on the other side. Enjoy!
1. As mentioned in the beginning, this recipe can be cooked with any big or medium-sized fish with white meat. We used chub mackerel. You can also use any cheaper mackerel type or fish.
2. This way of cooking ("plaki") can also be used when cooking pulses (e.g. large white beans/gigandes) or vegetables (e.g. potatoes, zucchinis) instead of fish; the result is very tasty.
3. The cooking time may vary, depending on the fish you choose to cook. Check before removing from the oven. You may need to add a bit of water and continue cooking with a larger fish.
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