Branzino Baked in Salt Crust

Recipe research evaluation

My dad is an amazing cook and likes to make recipes over and over until he perfects them. He's made things like avocado toast, carbonara, popovers, smoked meat and fish, pancakes, and caprese salad. My personal favorite is his recipe for whole branzino. It is stuffed with lemon slices and thyme, baked in a salt crust, and served with olive oil and lemon juice. The recipe can be adjusted based on the number of fish, but this one uses two.

Time

• Prep time: 20 minutes
• Cooking time: 30-40 minutes
• Total time: 50-60 minutes

Serves

• Four to six people
• Can be wrapped in foil for leftovers

Ingredients

• parsley for garnish
• 2 boxes of kosher salt
• 1 tall carton of egg whites
• 2 whole cleaned branzino - head still on; guts and fins removed
• lemon slices, thyme, and extra-virgin olive oil to taste

Materials

• tinfoil
• jelly roll pan
• thermocouple
• spatula

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 450 °F.
2. Cover the jelly roll pan with tinfoil.
3. Mix the salt and egg whites in a very large plastic bowl with gloved hands. Start with less egg white than you think and add more as needed. As you work it in, the mixture will become easier to combine.
4. Fill the cavity with thyme, amd lemon slices.
5. Drizzle the fish with olive oil.
6. Stick a thermocouple in the thickest part of the filet.
7. Cover the pan with half of the salt and egg mixture, place the fish on top, and cover the fish with the rest of the mixture. Strive for a thin sealed layer on the top and bottom of the fish.
8. Bake at 450 °F for 30 min, until the internal temperature is 140 °F. The top will be browned, and it will smell caramelized.

Serving

1. Remove the top layer of egg-salt mixture from the fish.
2. Roll the skin off the top using a fork. Use a good rubber spatula or fish server along the spine to lift the fillet off the bone.
3. Turn the fish over and repeat the last step on the second fillet. This has the benefit of avoiding the bones and minimizing the amount of spine for your guests to think about.
4. Move the fillets to a serving platter and garnish with parsley.
5. Serve with lemon wedges and olive oil.

Optional sides

1. Parboiled brussel sprouts, mixed with olive oil and baked with the fish
2. Braised Greens:

   Ingredients

   • 6 ounces pancetta, cut into 1/2-inch lardons
   • 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
   • 2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
   • 4 bunches assorted greens (broccoli rabe, escarole, Swiss chard, kale), rinsed, spun dry and stemmed
   • 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
   • Freshly ground black pepper
   • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, to finish

   Instructions

   1. Heat the 1/4 cup of oil in a medium pan over medium.
   2. Add the garlic and season with salt and pepper. Stir occasionally for 6-8 minutes.
   3. Add the greens by the handful, stirring and letting it wilt before adding more. Add more salt. Cook while stirring frequently until the greens are deep green and just wilted.
   4. Add 1 1/2 cups of water and cover partially with a lid for 12-15 minutes.
   5. Add the pancetta and stir for 5 minutes.
   6. Add the rest of the olive oil.

Recipe websites

• Noma

  The three recipe websites I found were all selling products which might be why they didn't need ads. The recipes on this site were organized by which product they used. I like how the recipes are all consistent with a photo, serving size, time, and an ingredient column and method column. I think the target audience is probably more advanced chefs, so the recipes aren't broken down into steps as much as other sites and leave more room for interpretation. It's pretty straight to the point without distractions.

• King Arthur Baking

  There's a lot going on with this site but it's still easy to read because of visual hierarchy with the text's point size, weight, capitalization, and alignment. The most important info is the most noticeable which makes it easy to navigate the page. I also think the icons are helpful. It's broken down into many sections and steps. The breadcrumb navigation is also really convenient.

• Breadtopia

  This site is heavy on visuals. The recipes start with photos and videos relating to advice and notes that go into more depth, but you can skip to the recipe. There are more process photos at the end. The general sections are separated well but I think the instructions could be made easier to navigate as an ordered list.

Non-recipe websites

• National Geographic Kids Science Lab

  This website was made for kids so they went out of their way to make it easy to understand with the design. Everything is spaced out and organized, with borders, color, and different type treatments to separate different parts. There is a GIF for each step. Also, it was a simple layout, color palette, and didn't try to make it kid-themed. There were few ads and they were just for Nat Geo Kids.

• Visit Iceland

  This website is very organized with clear type and layout hierarchies for information. The typefaces are unique but easy to read. The photos are beautiful and high quality.

• Bloomscape

  The color and typeface choices works with the content. There are horizontal rules, drop down menus if you want to see more or less specific information, icons, and photos.