The dorada (gilt head bream) is a fantastic fish with firm, white, delicious flesh. As it’s widely available on Lanzarote, where it is caught wild or farmed in the enclosures off Playa Quemada, you’ll almost always find good, fresh doradas in the shops and supermarkets.
Ask the fishmonger to “limpialo, por favor,” and they’ll gut it, scale it and trim the spiky fins. The rest is up to you. It’s the perfect summer fish dish grilled with butter, lemon, garlic, and thyme, but here’s an idea that brings Thai genius to a Canarian classic.
Ingredients (for 2): – Two dorada, cleaned – A half-thumb sized piece of fresh ginger, peeled and sliced finely – Two cloves garlic, peeled and slice finely – 4 stalks of lemongrass, stripped of outer leaves and chopped into rounds – Two tbspns soy sauce – Coriander (cilantro) leaves – A handful of salted roast peanuts, chopped – 1 tbspn sesame seeds – 1 lime, quartered.
Method:
1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees C.
2. Make three deep, diagonal slashes on each side of the dorada.
3. Put dorada in a large flat oven dish and baste on both sides with soy sauce.
4. Push sliced garlic, ginger and lemon grass into the slashes and the belly cavity of the fish.
5. Bake for 20 minutes basting regularly. Sprinkle with sesame seeds after 10 minutes.
6. Take out of the oven, sprinkle with coriander leaves, chopped peanuts and serve with lime wedges.
Cooks Tip:
If you like it hot, rub a little chilli paste into the fish and garnish with some chopped fresh green chilli.
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