Ingredients
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2 large Groupers from one of the Blue Island Fish Markets
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1.5 - 2 kg coarse salt
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4-6 egg whites (depending on the size of the fish)
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A little water (if necessary)
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For the stuffing:
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Sprigs of Fresh Thyme
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Parsley
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4 cloves garlic
Instructions
Ask at the Blue Island Fish Market to remove the entrails from the fish, but not the scales.
Wash the fish, without taking off the scales.
Preheat the oven to 220°C.
Put the herbs – thyme, parsley and finely chopped garlic in the bellies and then close them, bringing the two parts of the abdomen together and putting one on top of the other.
Beat the egg whites in a mixer to make a firm meringue. Gradually add the salt and stir gently until you have a uniform mixture, like wet sand. Add some water if necessary.
Make a base in the baking dish with the mixture of salt where the fish will lay. Choose a dish that has enough space and can be used to serve directly to the table, where the salt will be broken and the fish opened. Place the fish on the salt base and cover them entirely with the rest of the mixture (no gaps). Press down well to stick it together. It doesn’t matter if the tail of the fish protrudes, as long as all the flesh is covered with salt.
Bake in the oven at 200°C for 45 minutes if it is one large fish (1.5 kg) or for 25 minutes if they are two smaller fish, about 1.5 kg both together.
When the fish is taken out of the oven the salt crust will have hardened a lot. Break it with a hammer or with the handle of a large knife, pull and lift the crust off at the same time along with the skin with the scales. Clean the top fillet of the fish, removing with a knife and put onto a platter. Then pull out the central bone and, very easily, separate the lower fillet from the skin.
Serve.
This recipe can also be used for Bream, Sea Bass or Sea Bream.
Bon appétit!
