Local Root - The Seventh Sphinx

I’ve been wanting try new fish, and new methods of cooking fish. Whole roasted branzino is easy with great presentation value.

Instagrammed

I started roasting some fingerling potatoes about 30 minutes in advance as the fish cooks quickly, especially in a hot oven. There is a range of roasting approaches, ranging from ~20+ minutes at 350° to 10 minutes at 500°. I went for a happy medium, around 16 minutes in a 425° oven. I jumbled together a few recipes, mainly this one and this one.

Pillivuyt Eden porcelain oval baking dish

I was really pleased with the flavor and texture of this branzino, a.k.a. Greek sea bass. There is the appeal, too, of the fish being fresher and less expensive when purchased whole (I didn’t gut it myself, though this would be pretty badass to be able to do, and I aspire). The cavity can be stuffed with any number of herbs and accents, I used lemon, basil, garlic, thyme, and salt.

I made a pie.

I started with Dorie Greenspan’s apple pie recipe from Baking: From My Home to Yours, which uses tapioca as a thickener, and added a bit of cornstarch as I did not intend to use only apples. No no no.

I made a peach apple raspberry pie.

I think the best shot is on instagram. [Oh, I am on instagram now.]

First a layer of Jonamac apples (similar to McIntosh, they baked very nicely) and raspberries, then a picturesque layer of fanned peaches, which took ages and which of course I forgot to document, and which really ought to have been the top of a tart, which is the new species of baked thing I want now.

Then a tartan latticework crust, because I never can do things the easy way.

Brushed with milk and sprinkled with cinnamon sugar.

So pleased with my pie, which turned out beautifully. I should really make more pie. I don’t have any rabid love for pie (excepting pecan pie, in which case it may be love), but I enjoy it. I think it’s one of those things I like making even more than I like eating, a satisfyingly involved, crafty process. It’s one of those things I am happy to give away.

The pie bird isn’t strictly necessary when the crust is open, but it’s just so cute. And, for what it is worth (this was my first time using it), the juices did not run over, and the crust was not a soggy disintegrated mess.

Tag: Local Root

on the menu: whole roasted branzino

pie time