Chef Isabel

Chef Isabel

Fish in Sauce & Baked

Updated September 11, 2026

The Spanish fish table past the fry: hake in Basque green sauce, red tuna smothered in Cádiz onions, whole bream in a salt crust, Asturian hake in cider, and the Canarian sancocho of salt fish with mojo. Named by region, cooked in a sauce or the oven, and written so a cook far from the coast can put the genuine thing on the table.

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Atún de Almadraba Encebollado - Chef Isabel

Chef Isabel

Atún de Almadraba Encebollado

Atún encebollado is Cádiz at the stove: almadraba red tuna kept rosy beneath onions cooked slowly with bay, oregano, and dry white wine until dark gold and sweet.

Chipirones en su Tinta - Chef Isabel

Chef Isabel

Chipirones en su Tinta

Basque chipirones en su tinta turn small whole squid and their ink into a glossy black stew, built on onion cooked slowly until sweet and served with plain white rice for every last spoonful.

Merluza en Salsa Verde con Almejas - Chef Isabel

Chef Isabel

Merluza en Salsa Verde con Almejas

The Basque coast puts hake and clams in a pale parsley sauce whose silk comes from gentle heat and a circling cazuela. Shake the pan, never the fish, and supper is ready in minutes.

Greixonera de Peix Mallorquina - Chef Isabel

Chef Isabel

Greixonera de Peix Mallorquina

Greixonera de peix is Mallorca's earthenware fish bake: firm pieces of mixed rock fish, potatoes, a patient tomato sofrito, garlic, and parsley, cooked just until the flesh parts cleanly from the bone.

Dorada a la Sal Murciana - Chef Isabel

Chef Isabel

Dorada a la Sal Murciana

Murcian dorada a la sal turns two coastal staples, whole gilthead bream and coarse sea salt, into a celebration dish: seal the fish completely, bake, then crack the pale shell at the table.

Bonito con Tomate del Cantábrico - Chef Isabel

Chef Isabel

Bonito con Tomate del Cantábrico

Basque and Cantabrian bonito con tomate brings the summer catch to a deep, slow tomato sauce. Finish the sauce first, then let thick pieces of albacore cook gently in its heat.

Lubina a la Sal - Chef Isabel

Chef Isabel

Lubina a la Sal

Lubina a la sal belongs to the Levante coast: whole sea bass sealed under coarse salt, where intact scales protect sweet flesh and the crust cooks it gently without making the fish salty.

Urta a la Roteña - Chef Isabel

Chef Isabel

Urta a la Roteña

Urta a la roteña belongs to Cádiz: firm bream baked over onion, green pepper, ripe tomato, and dry Jerez wine, with a patient sofrito joining coast and market garden.

Besugo al Horno Cántabro - Chef Isabel

Chef Isabel

Besugo al Horno Cántabro

Cantabria puts whole besugo at the Christmas Eve table over soft potatoes and onion, with lemon, garlic, and pimentón. Roast only until the flesh parts cleanly from the bone.

Pescado en Amarillo Gaditano - Chef Isabel

Chef Isabel

Pescado en Amarillo Gaditano

Cádiz cooks hake in a golden saffron-and-turmeric broth with potatoes and peas. Build the onion slowly, then poach the fish only at the end, and supper comes out tender every time.

Lluç amb Salsa d'Ametlles - Chef Isabel

Chef Isabel

Lluç amb Salsa d'Ametlles

Catalonia cooks hake gently in fish stock and finishes the sauce with toasted almonds, garlic, and parsley pounded in a mortar, a picada that turns a plain pan into supper.

Rape a la Marinera - Chef Isabel

Chef Isabel

Rape a la Marinera

Catalonia's rape a la marinera sets firm monkfish and clams in a glossy sauce of slow sofregit, dry white wine, and almond picada. Build the sauce first, then cook the fish only until it yields.

Pixín a la Sidra - Chef Isabel

Chef Isabel

Pixín a la Sidra

Asturias gives firm monkfish and briny clams a sauce of natural cider, slow onion, and tomato. Reduce the cider before the fish returns, and the sauce turns rounded while the flesh stays succulent.

Sancocho Canario con Mojo Rojo - Chef Isabel

Chef Isabel

Sancocho Canario con Mojo Rojo

Sancocho Canario is the Canary Islands' Easter plate: salt-cured cherne poached gently with potatoes and sweet potato, then served with red mojo and gofio pella. Desalt the fish properly and the rest is plain work.

Tollos en Salsa Canarios - Chef Isabel

Chef Isabel

Tollos en Salsa Canarios

Canarian tollos en salsa turns dried dogfish into tender, meaty strips in a dark garlic, pimentón, cumin and tomato sauce. The full day's soak decides it, drawing out harsh salt before the pot.

Merluza a la Sidra - Chef Isabel

Chef Isabel

Merluza a la Sidra

Asturias brings its coast and orchards together here: thick hake steaks and clams in a tart natural-cider sauce, cooked just long enough for the fish to flake and stay juicy.

Vieja Sancochada Canaria - Chef Isabel

Chef Isabel

Vieja Sancochada Canaria

Vieja sancochada is Canarian coastal cooking at its plainest: whole parrotfish held just below the boil so its sweet, delicate flesh stays intact, served with papas arrugadas and sharp mojo verde.

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