This branzino recipe is derived from Kefi (no longer in existance) on the Upper West Side of New York City, I used to order this weekly until I moved to LA, and have spent the last 12 years making it my own. Something about the fresh herbs and the caper berries make this dish feel both restaurant-worthy and weeknight-easy.
If you’re new to cooking whole fish, this is the recipe to start with… forgiving, aromatic, and deeply satisfying. Served over a warm, rustic salad of potatoes, tomatoes, olives, onions and feta, finished with fresh herbs and lemon.
Rice Crispy Treats
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 15-20 minutes
Servings: 2
INGREDIENTS
- 2 whole branzino, scaled and gutted, or 4 branzino filets (at least ½ lb each, larger if available)
- 10 cherry tomatoes, halved
- 10 Kalamata olives, pitted
- 24 green olives, pitted
- ½ red onion, sliced into rings, browned in a cast-iron or regular pan and set aside
- 12 fingerling potatoes, par-boiled and set aside
- (If using other small potatoes, halve or quarter before boiling)
- 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
- ½ cup feta cheese
- 1 lemon
- 4 thinly sliced lemon wheels, charred on the cast iron.
- Kosher salt & freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- 1 tablespoon each fresh parsley, basil, and dill, chopped
- 4 caper berries
DIRECTIONS
- Cook the Fish
- Preheat a griddle pan or cast-iron pan over medium-high heat.
- For branzino filets:
- Lightly coat the skin side with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place skin-side down on the hot pan and cook without flipping, about 5 minutes, depending on thickness. If needed, loosely cover with foil for the final minute to finish cooking.
- For whole fish:
- Coat the fish inside and out with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Place on the hot pan and cook for about 8 minutes per side, until the flesh is opaque and cooked through.
- Make the Warm Salad
- In a large, heavy-bottomed pan, add 2 tablespoons olive oil and heat through.
- Add the garlic and potatoes and cook until lightly browned.
- Add the cherry tomatoes, olives, browned onion rings, dried oregano, and feta cheese.
- Stir gently just until everything is warmed through.
- Assemble
- Transfer the warm salad to plates and place the fish on top.
- Squeeze fresh lemon juice over everything, and sprinkle with the chopped herbs.
- Garnish each plate with two caper berries, and the charred lemon.
NOTES
- Don’t skip the fresh herbs, they really make the dish what it is!
- I also would not skip the caper berries, they might not be for you or for everybody, but they are an unexpected addition, and often times the first time someone has ever tried one – making the dish memorable.
- The charred lemon wheels are optional, but I find they add another unexpected touch and are so easy to make. After removing the fish from the pan, simply add the lemon wheels to the hot pan for a minute or two until they start to char. You can eat these whole, they taste like sour patch kids.
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