When I bought this terrific Turbot I did not consider that it most probably could not fit any frying pan I had at home. Thank god I found a baking tray that would accommodate the Turbot. Later I was glad for choosing this method as it turned out to be the easiest anyhow.

I was surfing a bit until I discovered a post of Mr. Oliver on the issue. He is using the recipe for sole but that did not stop me from adapting it.

Preparation time: 5 minutes

cooking time: 20 minutes

difficulty: easy

Preparation:

Wash the tomatoes and cut them in half. Add the to a bowl with green onions cut into stripes. Chop up the garlic and also add to the bowl. Season with salt, pepper, balsamic vinegar, the juice of half the lemon and the zest of all the lemon. Mix well.

Spread the vegetables on a baking tray.

Wash the fish well and cut stripes with a sharp knife.

Place the fish on the tomatoes and put in to the pre-heated oven at 392 F for 20 minutes.

I figured I am not using parsnip enough which I see a lot lately at the market. I like this vegetable, but often I can’t think of what to do with it. This time was different. I wanted a sort of puree with my fish and the parsnip came in handy.

The Bulgur was a ready made mix that I got offered to try from the Austrian Bio food company Verival, that is sponsoring my German blog. The Bulgur was seasoned with crushed cashew nuts, cinnamon, clove, cardamon, nutmeg and paprika.

Preparation time: 5 minutes

cooking time: 20 minutes

difficulty: easy

Preparation:

The Bulgur I had just needed some boiling in water and then some time to rest, so I prepared it first.

Peel the parsnip, cut into pieces and boil in some water until soft.

Chop up the spring onion and fry in a pan with some oil. Add the boiled parsnip and the wine. Let it boil for a few minutes so the alcohol can evaporate. Now add the cream and puree with a immersion blender. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Season the fish with salt and pepper then roll in flour. Fry in olive oil on each side for 3 minutes.

Serve the fish on the puree with the Bulgur.

Currently is probably the best time to eat fish and seafood in Greece. During the summer months when the country is flooded with tourists the quality of the fish goes down and the prices go up.
The best time for squid is now in winter and the people on the islands might even have the time to go and catch some themselves. So it happens that the neighbors might make you a little present and give you some squid.

Of course you could fry the squid but that is not necessary. This recipe with fresh spinach is healthy and easy to cook.

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 50 minutes

difficulty: easy

Preparation:

Dice the onion and fry it in a large pan with some oil. After a few minutes add the chopped garlic. Fry lightly.

Meanwhile remove the head from the squid. I do not use the head for cooking but I use the tentacles. Cut the squid into rings and put it into the pan. Fry for some minutes then add the wine and the bay leaf. Now let the squid simmer for 40 minutes until it is tender. Add some liquid if necessary.

Wash the spinach well. Cut the big leafs. When the 40 minutes have passed, add the spinach and cook it for another 10 minutes with the squid. Season with salt, pepper and some olive oil.

I had discovered a version of this dish while browsing through the website of Scandi Foody but also my colleague Arthurs Tochter had published a similar recipe in German language. My version is different once more. The key ingredients to this dish is absolutely fresh fish as the fish does not get cooked, just warmed up.

Preparation time: 10 minutes

cooking time: 10 minutes

Difficulty: easy

Ingredients:

Cut the cabbage into thin slices and fry it in a pot with some oil. The cabbage is loosing volume fast, there is no need to use a huge pot, though it might seem so in the beginning. After a few minutes add the vegetable stock and let it simmer.

Meanwhile crush in a mortar the Garam Masala, the coriander seeds, the garlic, some salt and pepper. Once you have a paste, add the Tahini paste and the lime juice and mix well. Now add the mixture to the cabbage.

Pour the coconut milk to the cabbage as well and let it heat up. Stir while doing so.

Cut the salmon into thick cubes and lay them out on top of the cabbage. Let them just get covered by the sauce. Let them in the sauce for very little time. Observe them well. Ideally they do not get cooked at all. Once the color of the fish begins to change remove them and serve on top of the cabbage with some sauce. The fish is not meant to be cooked!

A nice combination is always a piece of fish with a lemon risotto. The fish as such dies not need any additional lemon as the risotto has enough acidity. I have added some spinach this time a there was great fresh spinach at the market.

Preparation time: 10 minutes

cooking time: 20 minutes

difficulty: easy

Preparation:

In order to prepare the risotto dice an onion and put it into a pot with some olive oil. Fry the onions for a couple of minutes then add the rice. Stir and fry a bit then a add the white wine and the soup. Let it boil on low heat. Stir occasionally. You might have to add a bit more liquid later on in the process.
When the risotto is done (after approx 20 minutes) you can add lemon zest and the juice of half the lemon.
Add the Parmesan and stir well.

Wash the spinach and dry it off. Peel the garlic and dice it. Fry the garlic in a pan with some olive oil. Add the spinach bit by bit. The volume of the spinach will reduce drastically. A few minutes of frying are enough. Salt and pepper the spinach and keep warm.

Dice the tomatoes and add them to a small pot with the curry powder a sip of balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper. let it boil for a few minutes then puree it with a mixer.

Fry in a hot pan with some olive oil for 2 to 3 minutes on each side. Season with salt and pepper and serve with the side dishes and the sauce.

Red porgy or Φαγρί can be found quite often here in Greece. Most of the fish is farmed but fishermen also sell it off the boat on the islands. This one was a bait too big for the oven, so it had to be cut.

Preparation time: 10 minutes

cooking time: 40 minutes

difficulty: easy

Preparation:

Have your fish dealer clean the fish for you. Wash it and dry it with some kitchen paper.

Cut the onions into rings and lay them out on a baking tray. Cut the peppers in stripes and add them to the onions. Drizzle some oil over the vegetables.

Season the fish with salt and pepper. Place it on the onions. Slice the tomatoes and lay them on top of the fish. cover the tray with a foil and let it bake in the oven for 40 minutes at 200 degrees centigrade.

After 30 minutes remove the foil and let it bake for another 10 minutes. Be careful not to burn the tomatoes.

I serve the fish with rice.

This fish dish is a true summer recipe. The peach gives the fish a fresh and juicy taste the ginger adds an Asian twist to the recipe. The ideal plate for a hot summer night.

Preparation time: 15 minutes

difficulty: easy

Preparation:

Heat the butter in a pan. Fry the salmon on both sides on high heat. Meanwhile chop the onions. Peel and cube the peaches as well as the ginger and the garlic. The peach cubes can be large.

Add the onions to the fish. After about 5 min fying time remove the fish from the pan and wrap it into tin foil. The frying time of the fish depends on how thick the fillet is. Do not cook the fish too much as it also cooks in the foil.

Add the peach cubes to the frying pan. Add the ginger and the garlic after a minute or two. Fry them just a bit, then add the white wine. A sip is enough. Reduce the liquid, season with salt and pepper.

Return the fish to the pan and let it sit there with for a minute. Cover the fillet with sauce.

Place the fish on a plate and drizzle the sauce over it.

This great fish dish is another result of a cooking session in the Greek Orthodox Monastery. The Abbot had prepared Stockfish – Cod. Stockfisch is found quite frequently in the Greek cuisine though it is mostly not produced in Greece. The great advantage of Stockfish is that it can be stored easily as it is dry and salted. Prepared the right way it tastes absolutely delicious. In our case the fish was kept in water for 3 day to get rid of the salt.

Preparation time: 2 days
baking time: 90 minutes
simple recipe

Preparation:

soak the fish in plenty of water for 2 to 3 days. Change the water at least 3 times.

cube the onions and spread them in a large casserole. Sprinkle chopped parsley on top.

Fry the diced garlic with some oil in a pot, cube the tomatoes and bring them to boil in a small pot. Add the paste and the oregano, season with salt and pepper. Cook the sauce for half an hour.

Chop the fish into 5 to 10 Centimeter pieces and place it on the parsley. Peel the potatoes and cut them into slices that are just not finger thick. Place the slices on top of the fish. Pour the sauce over the potatoes. Now pour a cup of water over the potatoes and place the baking tray in the oven.

Bake for 90 minutes at 200 degrees centigrade.

Al classic dish of the Greek Cuisine and a must during lent. The Stifado with Octopus is one of my favourite Greek dishes. Stifado can be made with chicken, lamb, or veal but the verison with octopus is the most delicious, at least for me.

Preparation time: 20 minutes
cooking time: 100 minutes
easy recipe

Preparation:

Let your fish dealer prepare the octopus. Place the octopus in a pot that fits it easily ant place a lid on top. Do not add any water and bring to boil on low heat. Simmer for 30 minutes. Take the octopus out and let it cool down on a plate. Save the juices in the pot for later.

Use the same pot to fry the peeled small onions in olive oil until they have some colour. Add the sugar after a few minutes. Let it caramelize then add the vinegar. A thick sauce will develop on the bottom of the pot. Now add the bay leaves, the cinnamon, the chili, salt and pepper. Cut the tomato into the pot, add the tomato paste and a glass of white wine as well as the liquid form boiling the octopus. cover and let it boil for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile cut the octopus into small pieces. Then add the octopus to the pot and let is cook on very low heat for 40 minutes, the pot not covered so it thickens.

Tip: To store it I remove the cinnamon stick. It may turn a bit bitter when kept for a while.

Eva, whom I had met in my Yoga classes had told me about a fish dealer in the central market that sells superb salmon. He even would be so honest to tell if the salmon was not fresh enough for Sushi. I instanltly wanted to try that out and so we met in the morning in Athinas street to do some shopping. As it turned out the fish was fresh and exquisit and we ate countless Sashimi and Sushi.

Preparation time: 25 minutes + the time until the rice has cooled down
preparation time: 30 minutes, according to your skills and the amount of sushi.
medium difficulty

Ingredients:

Preparation:

See the other Sushi attempt I did. accompanied by an instruction video.