Name: Dorada a la Sal
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 50 min
Yield: 2 servings
Cuisine: Spanish
Ingredients: 800 g whole sea bream, scaled and gutted; 1 lemon, sliced; 4 sprigs thyme; 1 bay leaf; 1 kg coarse sea salt; 3 egg whites; 100 ml water; 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil; 1 lemon, in wedges; 400 g boiled potatoes, to serve

Dorada a la Sal

A whole sea bream baked in a crust of coarse salt for 35 minutes, cracked open at the table, with lemon and olive oil.

50 min total Serves 2 servings Medium

The Idea Behind Dorada a la Sal

Compare a fish baked in a salt crust with one baked in foil and you find one that is more moist and tastes of itself. Dorada a la sal is the Spanish fish baked in a blanket of coarse salt, and the salt does not season it so much as seal it, trapping steam and juice around the flesh.

Buy a whole sea bream, scaled and gutted but with the skin on. Stuff the cavity with lemon slices, thyme and a bay leaf. Mix the coarse salt with egg whites and a splash of water until it feels like damp sand. Spread a layer of the salt on the tray, lay the fish on it and pack the rest over the top, covering the fish completely, except perhaps the tail. The crust must be sealed.

Bake at 220°C / 430°F for 35 minutes. Rest for 5 minutes, then crack the crust with the back of a spoon and lift off the pieces. The skin comes away with the salt, leaving white, moist flesh. Lift the fillets from the bone and serve with olive oil, lemon and boiled potatoes. The fish is not salty if the crust is cracked and removed cleanly.

Making Dorada a la Sal

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Heat the oven to 220°C / 430°F. Stuff the fish with the lemon slices, thyme and bay.
Mix the salt, egg whites and water until it feels like damp sand.
Spread a third of the salt on a tray, lay the fish on top and pack the rest over to cover it completely.
Bake for 35 minutes. Rest for 5 minutes.
Crack the crust, lift it away with the skin, and lift the fillets from the bone. Serve with the oil, lemon wedges and potatoes.

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Notes for Getting It Right

Seal the fish completely in the salt.
Rest before cracking the crust.
Remove the skin with the salt.

What Goes With Dorada a la Sal

Boiled potatoes
Green salad
Dry white wine

Sides from the same cuisine on this site: Pisto, Escalivada, Espinacas a la Catalana.

Keeping and Reheating

Best fresh.

Dorada a la Sal Nutrition Facts

No nutrition figures are given for this recipe: they cannot be worked out reliably from its ingredient list (most of the energy comes from foods with no recorded source). Why some recipes have none.

Dairy-Free Gluten-Free No Added Sugar

Dorada a la Sal

Making Dorada a la Sal

Notes for Getting It Right

What Goes With Dorada a la Sal

Keeping and Reheating

Dorada a la Sal Nutrition Facts

Your notes on this recipe

Cooked this? Keep a note for next time

Making Dorada a la Sal

Notes for Getting It Right

What Goes With Dorada a la Sal

Keeping and Reheating

Dorada a la Sal Nutrition Facts

Your notes on this recipe

Cooked this? Keep a note for next time

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