Greek Fish Plaki - Baked Branzino With Potatoes

Fish plaki, also known as ‘psari plaki’ in Greek, is a traditional Greek way of preparing fish in the oven cooked in a rich tomato sauce and on top of thinly sliced potatoes. A Mediterranean dish full of aromas and flavor. Here I’m using branzino (sea bass) fillets but you could use any white flesh fish that you like.

You won’t need any special cooking skills to make this baked Greek fish and preparation is fairly simply and quick. Just chopping a few vegetables that we are going to add to the tomato sauce. The fish is so flaky and succulent that everyone is going to love it, even little ones that are often difficult with eating their fish.

Why you should try my recipe

• Perfectly cooked and juicy fish. Hard to get wrong.
• Full of aromas and flavors from the herbs and rich tomato sauce.
• Very easy to prepare, requiring no special cooking skills.
• Simple ingredients that you can easily find at your local store.
• Great for family meals or if you have friends coming over.

Ingredients & How-to

To make this Greek fish plaki dish you are going to need branzino fillets (sea bass), potatoes, onion, garlic, tomato paste, crushed tomatoes or passata or plum tomatoes, bay leaves, fresh parsley, oregano, olive oil, salt and pepper. If you can’t find seabass or branzino where you live, some other fish that you could use are porgy or cod fillets. So let’s get started!

01. I’m starting with preparing the tomato sauce. I’m going to use the stove just for a few minutes before assembling everything and moving to the oven. In a pot, I sauté the onion and garlic for 2-3 minutes with half of the olive oil until it’s soft and translucent. Then, I add the tomato paste and cook for a minute just to break it down and bring its flavor out.

02. I add the crushed tomatoes or passata to the pot and one cup of water. I add a couple of bay leaves, some salt and freshly ground pepper and a couple of tablespoons of freshly chopped parsley. I’m cooking the sauce on medium heat for only 4-5 minutes. Just until it starts bubbling. It will be fully cooked in the oven along with the potatoes and the fish.

03. As the sauce simmers in the pot, I start preparing the potatoes. I peel four large potatoes and proceed to slice them at a thickness of 0.5cm or 0.2in. We want to ensure the potato slices are thin enough to cook quickly, yet not so delicate that they melt or break too easily.

04. When the tomato sauce is ready, I put half of the sauce into the baking dish and spread it to cover the whole bottom. I’m using a baking dish with a lid but you could use any that you have in your kitchen and cover later on with some kitchen foil instead.

05. Then I place the potato slices on top of the sauce, with one touching half of the other. Similar to how we place the potatoes for a gratin if you’ve ever made one.

06. After I’ve placed all the potato slices in the tray, I cover them with the remaining tomato sauce and the other half of the olive oil. I cover the tray with a lid or some foil and I put it in a preheated oven for half an hour. We want the potatoes to get soft as they need more time to cook compared to the fish.

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07. After about 30 minutes, the potatoes should be soft. I’m taking the tray out and I’m adding the branzino fillets on top with the skin looking up. I drizzle with some olive oil, and season with salt and some oregano. I place the tray back in the oven but this time uncovered. The branzino (sea bass) fillets are thin and don’t need much time to cook. I bake them for 10-15 minutes only.

Tips

• Cutting the potatoes into thin slices reduces the cooking time.
• Placing the fish with the skin on the top gives more flavor to the flesh.
• You could add a teaspoon of dried Italian seasoning to the tomato sauce for more flavor.

Substitutions

• You could branzino fillets or two whole ones by increasing the baking time for fish to 10-15 minutes.
• Instead of bay leaves, you could use 2-3 allspice kernels.
• You could leave out the parsley if not a fan or replace it with fresh dill or mint.
• Instead of branzino, you could use trout, sea bream, porgy, or cod.

Serving suggestions

We usually have this Greek fish plaki with a nice salad on the side and a slice of crusty bread. Just some arugula with cherry tomatoes and a drizzle of olive oil and balsamic vinegar or if you want something more fancy, you could pair it with a refreshing pomegranate and goats cheese salad or a wintery arugula and roasted butternut squash salad.

Storage

If you have any leftovers of this baked Greek fish with potatoes, you could store it in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat it on the stove or in the microwave until it’s piping hot. While I haven’t personally tested freezing it, I’d advise against it as in my experience, potatoes don’t do well in the freezer. They become kind of soggy when defrosted and that can ruin the dish.

FAQ

• What does branzino taste like? Branzino has a mild and flaky taste and it’s not too fishy. It’s why many people that are not big fans of fish prefer it and why most of the kids will eat it without a big fuss.

• What to serve with branzino? If branzino is grilled or broiled, it pairs very well with green or potato salads, and with roasted vegetables. Branzino is also very nice in stews and casseroles with vegetables cooked in a tomato based or lemony based sauce.

• What is plaki fish? Fish plaki is a Greek recipe for preparing fish in the oven, cooked in a rich tomato and onion based sauce. The fish stays juicy and mellow compared to grilled or broiled fish.