Delicate Branzino with a bright vinaigrette of tomatoes, olives and basil give a Provençal twist to your dish. Super simple yet impressive! A delicious Mediterranean Diet dish.
Mediterranean Bronzino with Vierge Sauce
Rated 5.0 stars by 1 users
Servings
2
Prep Time
15 minutes
Cook Time
10 minutes
Author:
lechefswife
Delicate Branzino with a bright vinaigrette of tomatoes, olives and basil give a Provençal twist to your dish. Super simple yet impressive! A delicious Mediterranean Diet dish.
Ingredients
2 Bronzino filets.
2 tbsps olive oil
pinch of course salt
1 orange for zesting
1 Shallot, finely chopped
2 green onions, finely chopped
¼ cup of chives, finely chopped
1 ½ cup cherry tomatoes, quartered
⅓ cup of pitted Niçois or Kalamata black olives, halved
2 tbsps of capers (left whole if it is the small kind), if it is the full caper berry, halve or quarter depending the size
½ cup basil, finely chopped
3 tablespoons roasted pine nuts
¾ cup of extra virgin olive oil
1 lemon
For the Bronzino
For the Vierge sauce
Directions
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
Trim the edges of your Bronzino fillet for a clean presentation using a sharp knife. Make four diagonal incisions in the skin of each fillet.
Drizzle 1 tbsp of olive oil on the cooking sheet. Gently place the Bronzino Filets next to each other on the sheet, skin side down.
Drizzle 1 tbsp of olive oil over the top of the filets with a pinch of sea salt.
Set the cooking sheet on the top rack of the oven. Set timer for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, it is time to make the sauce Vierge.
Mix the shallot, green onions, chives, cherry tomatoes, olives, capers, basil, pine nuts together in a mixing bowl with the ¾ cup of olive oil.
Zeste one lemon into the Vierge Sauce. Squeeze the juice of the lemon into the sauce using a strainer to avoid lemon seeds getting into your Vierge! Mix and set aside. (Le Chef's note: Vierge sauce is even better made a couple hours in advance, the shallots lose their acidity when resting in the olive oil)
Once the 10 minutes are up, check on the Bronzino. The fish should have an opaque white color. The cooking time may vary given the size of the fish. If the flesh still looks a little rosy in color in the center, set it back in the oven for another 2 minutes, keeping a close eye.
Once the Bronzino is cooked, carefully remove it from the cooking tray with a thin, long, spatula.
Place 2 filets per person in the center of each plate.
Top each whole Bronzino with a fine dusting of orange zest (it adds a beautiful citrus note to the fish), about ¼ of the orange per filet.
Spoon ¼ cup of Vierge Sauce over the filets on each plate.
Serve immediately.
