Roast fennel-stuffed bream with fennel seed and orange oil

Name: Roast fennel-stuffed bream with fennel seed and orange oil
Yield: 2 servings
Cuisine: italian
Ingredients: 2 whole gilt-head bream; 2 whole oranges; 2 whole fennel bulbs; 10 g dill; 20 g capers; 45 g extra virgin olive oil; 6 g fennel seeds; to taste flaky sea salt

Whole bream roasted in a foil parcel over fennel, orange and capers, then finished with a bright fennel-seed and orange oil. A light Mediterranean dinner that stays moist and fragrant.

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Nonna Maria's Tips

Roast bream gently stuffed with fennel, orange and capers, perfumed by crushed fennel seeds and olive oil for a bright Mediterranean flavor.

Switch rapeseed oil to good extra virgin olive oil for both roasting and the orange oil; this aligns with Italian home cooking and deepens flavor.
Include olives and possibly a small amount of breadcrumbs in the fennel and orange stuffing to echo Sicilian involtini and braciolette traditions.

Avoid

⚠
Overcooking the fish until dry; Nonne insist on moist, just-cooked flesh that flakes gently.
⚠
Covering the delicate orange and fennel flavors with heavy tomato sauces or excessive garlic.

Ingredients

0/8 gathered

Serves 2

2 whole gilt-head bream

2 whole oranges

2 whole fennel bulbs

½ oz dill

¾ oz capers

2 oz extra virgin olive oil

¼ oz fennel seeds

flaky sea salt

Preparation

0/3 steps

Heat the oven to 356°F/fan 320°F/gas 4. Lay a sheet of foil on a baking tray and drizzle with olive oil. Thinly slice the fennel (a mandolin gives the most even layer) and spread it on the foil. Slice one orange over the top and scatter on the capers. Sit the bream on the bed and tuck some fennel and orange into the cavity. Drizzle with a little more oil, season with sea salt, then seal a second sheet of foil over the top into a parcel. Bake for 25 minutes.

While the fish bakes, finely zest and juice the second orange into a bowl. Whisk in 3 tbsp olive oil and the fennel seeds, then stir in the finely chopped dill.

Lift the bream onto a serving plate with some of the soft roasted fennel, then spoon the orange and fennel seed dressing generously over the whole fish.