Many, many years ago…1990 to be exact, I was working for a Canadian bank in my first “adult” job and being at the bottom of the ladder, I was given a mere ten days for vacation and that vacation could only be taken after the summer holidays (when those with seniority and children came back from vacation). The only window of opportunity for me to visit Greece with some decent swimming weather was September.
I actually booked and stayed in Greece for 2 weeks! Some of you might be thinking, “I’d take two weeks to Greece” but let me put things in perspective for you. Two weeks for a Greek who’s accustomed to spend an entire summer in Greece is almost a tease of a vacation.
Regardless, I went to Greece for two weeks but it was one of the funnest and action-packed trips to Greece. Not one day wasted, every hour savoured, every moment with friends and family precious.
Some friends of mine set up to meet me in Athens upon my arrival and we were spend a night in Athens then take a short ferry boat ride to two islands in the Saronic Gulf, Hydra and Spetses.
These islands are very popular with Athenians as they are only a short distance away by car and ferry or just a ferry from Athens. Both islands picturesque, transporting you far away from the hustle & bustle of Athens and offering the city folk a slower pace, a sip of the good life and a breath of warm sea air. Today, we’ll dine in Spetses.
I remember a pretty town lined with old mansions, horse drawn carriage rides and many roads finished with mosaic patterns. Days were spent taking leisurely strolls or taking a short ferry to the mainland for a nice swim at Kosta beach.
The evenings? What else but to dine in one of the many quaint and affordable eateries that cater to foreign and Greek tourists alike.
This baked fish dish comes from Spetses and it’s basically a baked fish (Plaki) with whole or fish fillets, tomatoes, parsley and breadcrumbs. There are obviously many slight variations to this dish but here, you get simplicity, you get a healthy dinner option, a viable weeknight meal that will transport you to one of Spetses’ many tavernas.
Fish à la Spetsiota is also in keeping with my goal to eat lighter and healthier during the month of January. I have cracked a bit and I will share some of the richer meals real soon.
But in the meantime, go to the market and see what the catch of the day is. It’s Friday and I’m sure your fish monger is brimming with some fresh fish. Fancy a whole fish on the bone? Or would you like the “no fuss – no muss” of a fillet?
Either way, this dish can accomodate you. Sole, tilapia or snapper fillets will work fine here and on the instance I made this dish, I used sea bass filllets.
The dinner was accompanied but a simple yet delicious salad of Romaine lettuce, scallions, dill, extra-virgin olive oil, wine vinegar, sea salt, pepper and some Feta cheese.
Greeks enjoy rice with fish and I’ve paired the Spetsiota dish with baked rice and a side of blanched green beans.
Try Fish à la Spetsiota with the rice and green beans. The rice is your obvious starch but the beans and fish pairing really work here. Place the fish fillet on top of a bed of beans and allow some of the tomato sauce to get on the beans. The two work beautifully together!
If using fresh tomatoes, a little tomato paste will help bring the sauce together but here I used a good quality canned plum tomatoes. Finally, don’t even think about using that store bought crap they label as breadcrumbs. It’s more akin to sawdust than anything else.
Grab some old bread and pulse it in your processor or even take some good bread, cut in cubes, bake it in low heat (300F) for 30 minutes and turn the heat off and allow the bread cubes to cool and dry out for another hour so. Place in your processor and you have the tastiest breadcrumbs ever!
Fish à la Spetsiota (ΨάÏι α λα σπετσιώτα)
(serves 4)
4 fish fillets
1 1/2 cups of plum tomatoes
3-4 cloves of garlic
1/3 cup fresh parsley
1/2 cup dry white wine
sea salt and fresh ground pepper
1 cup cup fresh breadcrumbs
1/4 cup olive oil
extra-virgin olive oil for finishing
Pre-heated 400F oven
- Rinse your fish fillets and pat dry. Lightly season your fillets with salt and pepper and stand for about 30 minutes.
- In a food processor, add the plum tomatoes, parsley, garlic and wine and pulse until the mixture is blended but some pieces of tomato remain. Allow the mixture to marry for 30 minutes. Pre-heat your oven.
- Season the fish with a little more salt and pepper and place in a lightly treated baking tray with olive oil. Pour some of the sauce on the tray then lay your fillets down. Pour the tomato sauce over the fillets and sprinkle with your homemade breadcrumbs.
- Drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil and bake until the sauce has firmed up and the breadcrumb topping has formed a crisp, light-brown crust (approx. 30 minutes).
- Serve warm with some baked white rice, a bed of boiled & blanched green beans and a green salad. Drizzle each fish with some extra-virgin olive oil.
If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://kalofagas.blogspot.com then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at truenorth67 AT gmail DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author. © 2007-2009 Peter Minakis
66 Responses
Now this looks easy and very tasty…I’m going to make this! Thanks for the recipe Peter!
This looks great! I did a variation of this the other night — but used dill instead of parsley and added pinenuts and currants….
I’m planning a trip to Greece in June so I will file away Hyfra and Spetses
I love fish just about any way – this looks great!
Peter, that looks like a great fish dish. I need to have more fish in my diet. I love it, but only rarely cook it at home and I don’t even know why!
I feel as though I’ve just had a quick trip to Greece. The fish, of course, looks delicious but your post was so descriptive I thought I was walking with you through the market.
looks crispy and no frying…you go boy. and a 2 week vacation – let me get the violins out for you. kidding, i do understsand your sadness at the time. spaking of a warm vaca, i’m dying for one. it’s zero in nyc today and my white skin is beginning to look translucent. food is my only comfort.
I, too, was surprised it was baked and not fried since it looks so crispy. Enjoyed the story about your trip Spetses. And thanks for reminding me that I need to be switching out pasta for fish more often.
Oh how I wish I was in sunny Greece right now, instead of freezing NJ!
You really have been eating healthy lately. I just baked a cheesecake, what does that say?
(that I need to get motivated to go to Greece!)
I understand fully a holiday where everything has to be done in 2 weeks…we just had a holiday like that.
This fish dish is making me want to eat that straight away!
Put me down for 2 weeks in Greece!The fish looks wonderful. Do you recommend a particular kind of fish as far as flavor ans can hold up? I was wondering if talapia would work since we can find it here pretty easy right now.
Two weeks, that’s short! Your fish dish looks really tasty!
Cheers and have a great weekend,
Rosa
Two weeks, that’s short! Your fish dish looks really tasty!
Cheers and have a great weekend,
Rosa
Two weeks, that’s short! Your fish dish looks really tasty!
Cheers and have a great weekend,
Rosa
Two weeks, that’s short! Your fish dish looks really tasty!
Cheers and have a great weekend,
Rosa
Two weeks, that’s short! Your fish dish looks really tasty!
Cheers and have a great weekend,
Rosa
Two weeks, that’s short! Your fish dish looks really tasty!
Cheers and have a great weekend,
Rosa
Thanks on the tips on breadcrumbs! I didn’t know this one!!!!
Having fish, veggies and rice is so healthy Chico! Mediterraneans know how to eat well… don’t we?
Oh that dish just makes me think of warmer times
That is such a tasty looking fish dish – but the salad really does it for me. I used to work with a woman who would make that salad for us a coupld of days a week for lunch and I just loved it!
This looks like a great way to enjoy some really fresh fish, something I’m very overdue on.
This looks like a great way to enjoy some really fresh fish, something I’m very overdue on.
This looks like a great way to enjoy some really fresh fish, something I’m very overdue on.
This looks like a great way to enjoy some really fresh fish, something I’m very overdue on.
This looks like a great way to enjoy some really fresh fish, something I’m very overdue on.
This looks like a great way to enjoy some really fresh fish, something I’m very overdue on.
a perfect healthy combination – nice one indeed
You always come up with wonderful dishes with fish.
This looks delicious.
I can’t argue with this at all, Peter. You’ve got a knack with our finned friends!
I seriously need to get to the local fish market … we were eating fish two or three times a week for th elongest time and the last few months we’re lucky if I’ve made fish twice a month.
This looks delicious. I like the addition of breadcrumbs a lot.
Oh this sounds so nice. Baked fish is so healthy, (at least how you’ve prepared it) and it’s so much easier than pan-frying, which i love, but which can sometimes get messy. the tomato mixture sounds really flavorful.
Oh this sounds so nice. Baked fish is so healthy, (at least how you’ve prepared it) and it’s so much easier than pan-frying, which i love, but which can sometimes get messy. the tomato mixture sounds really flavorful.
Oh this sounds so nice. Baked fish is so healthy, (at least how you’ve prepared it) and it’s so much easier than pan-frying, which i love, but which can sometimes get messy. the tomato mixture sounds really flavorful.
Oh this sounds so nice. Baked fish is so healthy, (at least how you’ve prepared it) and it’s so much easier than pan-frying, which i love, but which can sometimes get messy. the tomato mixture sounds really flavorful.
Oh this sounds so nice. Baked fish is so healthy, (at least how you’ve prepared it) and it’s so much easier than pan-frying, which i love, but which can sometimes get messy. the tomato mixture sounds really flavorful.
Oh this sounds so nice. Baked fish is so healthy, (at least how you’ve prepared it) and it’s so much easier than pan-frying, which i love, but which can sometimes get messy. the tomato mixture sounds really flavorful.
Enticingly delightful Peter.
Cheers,
Elra
Yummy. I’ve always liked this dish – it’s well-seasoned, but the fish flavor isn’t overwhelmed. Nice pics too!
Thanks for this great recipe. Since I don’t like experimenting with fish recipes (as I’m not likely to taste them myself Lol) I love getting new recipes to try out on Sir Pickypants (I won’t eat the fish and I call HIM Sir Pickypants…). I think he’d love this.
Looks wonderful Peter. The variety of the food you post is incredible!
That looks very tasty. Tomato and baked fish always works. But I like how its made more more crusty with the breadcrumbs. Here in the US , we would be lucky if we even got 5 days vacation the first year on a job.
Great looking fish. I will have to try some with the tomato topping then the bread crumbs. I am eating healthy too.
You are making me want to go to Greece. Dinner looks lovely, I am hungry now..
Hi Peter,
Thank you so much for your kind words, I really appreciate it.
Stupidly, I hit the reject button on my post moderation instead of the publish!! I’m so sorry!
I love Greece, I have to admit, my favorite thing about the Islands is the Halloumi cheese. Oh, I could eat that stuff till the cows came home :D
Reading this story it was like I was back in 1990, in Greece, partying with you. I love reading memories of people.
Your fish looks so good.
Perfect! I’ve been craving fish and chips and this looks like a much healthier alternative.
This looks great! I will definitely be trying this one out!
We were just talking with some friends last night about going to Greece – evidently there is great rock climbing over there! Not to mention fantastic food.
I really need to try making greek food more often – you’ve inspired me!
http://www.chezus.com
This brings right back to my last visit (too long ago)…The recipe looks excellent and easy.
–Marc @ chefectomy
Hydra and Spetses – I’ve been to both too!!
Love the fish – I need to eat more fish and will give that a go.
A very interesting post as always Peter.
Only two weeks in Greece??
I can feel how you felt;-)
This is one of our favourite dishes. Very tasty and very easy to cook also:)
i only get 10 days of vacation right now, but i would gladly spend them in greece. that might make the rest of the year worth the trouble of my job. ;)
You’re making me think of warm Greek beaches which is a pleasant thing to consider on an icy January day.
The fish looks wonderful, but it’s the salad that really catches my eye. You’ve made me hungry!
Peter this looks yummy!
I surely will enjoy visiting your site ! I’m already hungry !
That looks like a great tasty and light meal.
What type of fish did you use? (Sorry if I missed this in the recipe.) I think salmon would be lovely, or halibut.
We eat tilapia so often, esp my kids. nice meal. I was wondering if its ok to use the wine if kids are eating.. does it evaporate? or may be I should use a subsitute?
Soma(www.ecurry.com)
You Canadians – a “mere” 10 days. At your first job, that’s not too shabby! LOL. But I agree, I wouldn’t go anywhere in Europe for less than at least a few weeks since you are spending so much time on the plane, too. Anyway, this looks delicious. As you know, i am not huge on fish but this looks too good to pass up, so I’m starring it.
Sea bass! I love sea bass! Unfortunately, I rarely find any in the markets around here. I’m typically relegated to tilapia, red snapper or orange roughy, all of which I love, but I’d rather have sea bass. Yum.
This looks really delicious and I have some fish in the freezer we caught on the St. Lawrence this summer still – I am definitely going to make this recipe! It all is making my mouth water at 7:22 AM!!
This dish whisks me away to a sunnier climate Peter. Add a Mythos and the Agean sunshine and our Canadian climate is a thing of the past. No wonder long vacations in Greece are in order.
You know I love fish and this Peter look awesome and tasty!! as always.LOL Gloria
every time I come here I get so hungry! Your food is amazing and beautiful Perter! Delicious!
Two weeks’ vacation in total??? Surely that’s against the Geneva Convention?! Still, it was well-spent if you discovered this fish. That salad looks awfully tempting too – simple really is best!
I’m also trying to eat more fish in January after this meat-fest that lasted several..er.. months.
Love this recipe, looks really really tasty.
love the idea of oven baked fish instead of deep frying… yums!
I hear the Greek food gods calling me: I’ve been holding off for two weeks now. This tasty fish dish is one that’s going to be made real soon. Thanks!