Salt is a useful ingredient when cooking fish, because it’s very hard to dry out fish baked in salt. Mahi-mahi, also known as dorado or dolphinfish, is a firm white fish that is mild and adaptable to a wide variety of cooking techniques. While this fish is abundant in tropical waters, it’s not unheard of for mahi-mahi to be caught offshore in southern New England during the late summer.
Serves 6
- 6-10 thin slices lemon
- 6-10 thin slices fennel
- 1 bunch thyme
- 1 whole mahi-mahi, about 7 pounds, cleaned and gutted but not scaled
- 6 egg whites
- 5 pounds kosher salt
1. Heat oven to 450 degrees.
2. Place lemons, fennel, and thyme inside fish cavity. Whisk egg whites to form soft peaks and fold in salt. Spread one-half salt mixture into the bottom of a baking pan.
3. Lay fish in the baking pan and cover with remaining salt mixture. Press salt so fish is completely buried except head and tail. This top layer does not need to be thicker than a half-inch.
4. Bake for one hour. Check internal temperature with a thermometer; when it reads 130 degrees, remove from oven. Crack crust, remove fish, and serve with salsa verde or good quality olive oil and lemon.
Salsa Verde
- 2 cloves garlic
- 6 anchovy filets
- 3 cups chopped flat-leafed Italian parsley
- 2 cups chopped chives
- 1 cup chopped oregano
- 1/2 cup chopped sage
- 1 cup chopped cilantro
- 1/4 cup chopped capers, rinsed
- 2 cups extra virgin olive oil
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 1 cup minced shallots
- Salt and pepper, to taste
1. Using a mortar and pestle, crush garlic and anchovies into a fine paste.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine crushed garlic and anchovy with all other ingredients except shallots. Just before serving, add shallots, and season with salt and freshly cracked black pepper.
This recipe was originally published with the article, Salt.
