As is usually the case, I created this recipe chasing a food memory. When I was a student at UNC-Chapel Hill, there was an amazing restaurant on Franklin Street called Pyewacket. It served delicious Greek-inspired food. One of my absolute favorite things to order was the fresh fish plaki. I believe that plaki means baked in Greek. Of course, I have no idea if this is how they made it, but this is my imitation in the best way I could figure it out. For the pictures, I had some wonderful grouper I brought home from the beach. It satisfied my memory cravings & I hope you enjoy it.
Fresh Fish Plaki
Equipment
- Equipment: cutting board, chef’s knife, glass baking dish, oven
Ingredients
Ingredients:
- 2 6-ounce fillets of fish (I use whatever white flaky fish is freshest – I used grouper in these pictures)
- ½ sweet onion cut radial julienne
- 1 large globe tomato cut into ¼-inch slices
- 1 lemon cut into very thin slices
- ¼ cup capers plus about a tablespoon of the brine
- ¼ cup pitted kalamata olives
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon fresh chopped dill
- 1 tablespoon fresh chopped flat leaf parsley
- 1 teaspoon fresh chopped thyme
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
Method of Preparation:
- Gather all ingredients.
- Preheat oven to 350ºF.
- Ensure that fish has no scales or bones.
- Cut ½ a sweet onion into radial julienne (which means very thinly by the lines you can see)
- Core and cut the tomato into ¼-inch slices.
- Cut the lemon into very thin slices, discarding any seeds. Reserve the ends to squeeze the lemon juice onto the fish. (May want extra lemon juice from another one).
- Finely chop the herbs.
- In a glass baking dish, layer the tomatoes on the bottom, then the onions, capers, olives, the lemon slices and some of the herbs.
- Atop these ingredients, place the fish fillets about an inch apart.
- Drizzle the fish with lemon juice and olive oil.
- Sprinkle the fish with the kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.
- Sprinkle the rest of the herbs on top.
- Bake the fish at 350ºF until fish is cooked through and flakes easily. (Timing depends on thickness of the fish, but at least 20 minutes.
- Safe temperature of fish fillets is 145ºF if you have a thermometer to check.
- The fish plaki is delicious on its own or served with rice pilaf or orzo.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
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