Baked Fragolino with Asparagus and Taggiasca Olives, a cooking method I really love, simple, delicious, and doesn’t require culinary skills. This way, we can also avoid adding fats, even vegetable ones like extra virgin olive oil, to be added raw only when the fish is done cooking. At this point, I would say it can also be considered a diet recipe and can become a complete dish if, as in this case, we add vegetables to enrich its flavor. The only challenge in making this dish could come from having to clean the fish, but if you have a trusted fish market, it will be really easy to get started. If you can’t find fresh fish, you can always use frozen, but make sure it’s of good quality.
If, like me, you enjoy foods cooked en papillote, then you shouldn’t miss the next recipes:
- Cost: Medium
- Preparation time: 15 Minutes
- Portions: 2 people
- Cooking methods: Electric oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Spring, All seasons
Ingredients
- 1.3 lbs red bream or fragolino
- 8 asparagus
- 3 tbsps Taggiasca olives
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 slice lemon
- to taste salt
Tools
- 1 Baking dish
- 1 Parchment paper
- 1 Knife
- 1 Cutting board
- 1 Vegetable peeler
- 1 Paper towel
Preparation
After opening the bunch of asparagus, select 8/10 of the same size. Remove the tough parts and use a vegetable peeler to trim the ends of the stalks. Rinse them thoroughly under running water to remove any traces of dirt and dry with paper towels.
Take the fish out of the fridge and bring it to room temperature. Since your trusted fishmonger will have already cleaned and scaled the fish, as in this case, all that remains is to rinse it quickly under running water. Dry it well, season it with salt to taste, and insert half a garlic clove and the lemon slice, halved, into the cavity.
Add the asparagus, arranging them on the sides, and season with salt. Place the other half of the garlic clove and the Taggiasca olives on the surface of the fragolino, letting the oil from the olives drip with them (in this case, I don’t remove the oil from the olives because they are from my trees, which I preserved in excellent extra virgin olive oil). At this point, all that remains is to close in the parchment.
Fold the sides of the parchment paper as if it were a candy and tuck them under the fish’s body. Place it inside a baking dish and bake in a preheated oven at 392°F, letting it cook for about 20-30 minutes. Please do not exceed this time, or the fragolino will become tough.
Serve our Baked Fragolino with Asparagus and Taggiasca Olives immediately, but not before sprinkling it with fresh parsley leaves.
Tips
As with any other food, fragolino can be stored in the refrigerator for one or two days, but it will certainly taste different.
Store it in an airtight container, preferably glass or ceramic.
If this happens, I suggest using it to dress pasta, maybe adding some sautéed cherry tomatoes.
It can also be frozen, but the result will always be the same.
Remember, however, to always defrost in the refrigerator and never at room temperature.
