Zapechena Ryba (запечена риба, baked fish with carrots)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •A wide pan for sweating the carrot and onion
• •A large baking dish that fits the fish snugly
• •A box grater
• •Kitchen foil

Instructions

1. 1

   Salt the fish

   Pat the fish dry. If using a whole fish, slash the thickest part of each side a few times down to the bone; if using fillets, leave them in large pieces so they don't dry out. Season all over with the salt and black pepper, including the belly cavity, and let it sit while you make the carrot layer. The surface should lose its slippery feel and turn slightly tacky.

   Whole fish gives you the sweetest juices around the bones. Fillets forgive nervous eaters and weeknights. Both are welcome at my table.
2. 2

   Sweat the vegetables

   Warm the sunflower oil in a wide pan and add the onions with a pinch of salt. Cook gently until they slump and turn translucent, then add the grated carrots. Keep the heat low enough that nothing browns hard. You want the carrot to soften, stain the oil orange, and smell sweet instead of raw. Cook until the smell changes.

   This is the step that decides the dish. If the carrot and onion go onto the fish raw, they stay separate; sweated first, they become the sauce.
3. 3

   Season the blanket

   Stir the tomato paste into the carrot and onion and let it darken slightly in the oil, then add the grated tomatoes, brine or lemon juice, bay leaves, peppercorns, and sugar if your tomatoes are sharp. Simmer gently until the mixture is loose but not watery, like a soft vegetable jam. Stir in the garlic at the end so it stays bright.

4. 4

   Cover and bake

   Heat the oven to 190C. Spread a third of the carrot mixture in a baking dish, lay the fish on top, then cover it with the rest, tucking some into the belly if using a whole fish. Cover loosely with foil and bake until the fish flakes at the thickest part and the juices run clear near the bone. Listen at the dish: it should bubble lazily around the edges, not hiss angrily dry.

5. 5

   Rest and finish

   Uncover for the last few minutes if the top looks too wet, just enough for the carrot to settle and gloss over. Let the fish rest at least fifteen minutes before serving, because the juices need to come back to themselves. Scatter with dill. Serve hot, warm, or cold, with black bread, boiled potatoes, or nothing but forks and patience for the bones.

Chef Tips

• •Choose fish that smells clean and mineral, not fishy. If your market has carp or bream, very good; if it has only cod loin or hake, cook it anyway.
• •The carrot layer can be made a day ahead. It will taste deeper after a night in the fridge, and the bake becomes almost effortless.
• •Fermented tomato brine gives the nicest southern sourness. Cucumber brine works too. Lemon is a bit more modern and sharper, but it keeps the balance honest.
• •Don't overbake lean fillets. Pull them as soon as they flake under a fork, then let the hot carrot finish carrying them.
• •Cold leftovers are not second-best. Spoon the chilled carrot and fish onto rye bread with extra dill and you'll understand why this dish sits so well on a make-ahead table.

Advance Preparation

• •The carrot-onion layer can be cooked up to 2 days ahead and kept covered in the fridge.
• •The baked fish can be served hot after resting, or chilled overnight and served cold the next day.
• •If using frozen fillets, thaw them fully in the fridge and pat them very dry before salting.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 235g)