Photo credit: © Eatwell101.comA very simple fish recipe: red mullet baked in foil! Remember to ask the fishmonger to scale and gut the fish if you don’t want to do it yourself. Do not confuse the red mullet, whose flesh is fine, with gurnet fish, which is usually used for fish soup (it has more edges and its flesh is less tasty than the melting Barbet). Red mullet flesh is excellent when crushed with a fork and mixed with butter, Espelette pepper and salt.You can also try it stuffed and grilled; it’s surprisingly delicious. Be cautious with aluminum foil: there is a matte side and a shiny side. Only the matte side should be in contact with food. The shiny side may oxidize the ingredients.
Preparation time: 15 minutes Cooking time: 15 minutes
Ingredients list for Curl Mullet with Red pepper+Fennel
Serve 4:
- 4 red mullets
- 1/2 red bell pepper
- 1/2 red onion
- 4 teaspoons fennel seeds
- 4 small sprigs of fresh thyme
- Olive oil
- Fleur de sel or coarse salt
- A pinch of Espelette pepper powder or flakes
Photo credit: © Eatwell101.com
Cooking instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 430°F (220°C).
2. Cut 4 sheets of aluminum foil to 11 inches (30cm) long.
3. Wash and cut the half pepper into strips, and do the same with the red onion.
4. Drizzle olive oil on the foil (dull side), then lay down the fish.
5. Add the bell pepper and onion slices, a drizzle of olive oil, a few fennel seeds, a fresh thyme, a pinch of salt and a pinch of Espelette.
6. Stick the two sides of the foil together.
7. Fold to weld the foil to give it a rounded shape of a half moon.
8. Bake the red mullets in foil for 15 minutes. The foil should be really swollen because of steam, indicating the wrap was well sealed.
Enjoy these red mullets mullets in foil with fennel accompanied by crunchy vegetables or fragrant rice.
