Roasted Common Bream (Fagri) in Vine Leaves

Visit a Blue Island Fish Market for fresh, cleaned Common bream 

Prepare all the ingredients:

1. Prepare the common bream

2. Cook on the grill 

3. Prepare the olive oil and lemon sauce

4. Serve

Method:

Mix the salt and pepper in a bowl. Lay the common bream on a baking dish or tray and season well, seasoning its belly as well, with the salt and pepper mixture. Put 3 slices of lemon and 3 slices of onion in its belly. Sprinkle with the rosemary, oregano, and thyme on top. Pour the 4 tablespoons of olive oil over it as well as into its belly. Spread the vine leaves on the base of a fish grill and place the fish on top. Pour the remaining olive oil over it. If desired, place vine leaves on top as well.  Close the fish grill and grill the fish over charcoal for 15 minutes on each side.

Mix the olive oil, lemon, and salt in a jar that closes with a lid or in a small blender. Pour it into a bowl and add the parsley.

Remove the fish from the grill, open it up, remove its bones, and pour the lemon olive oil sauce over it.

MEMORIES – GASTRONOMY

While sitting at a fish tavern near the Limassol seaside, our waiter arrived to take our order. Our friends wanted fresh fish on the grill. The chef recommended common bream with extra lemon olive oil sauce. He carved it in 3-4 places, grilled it over charcoal and occasionally brushed it with the olive oil and lemon sauce. It was the most delicious fish I had ever tasted. Since then, I have been preparing it the same way, filling its belly with various herbs and serving it with plenty of olive oil and lemon sauce with parsley.

I tried baking fish in vine leaves for the first time about 10 years ago, after my favorite cooking teacher, Ms. Nina Theoharidou, gave me a recipe for grilled red mullets in vine leaves (ampelofylla as we call them in Cyprus). The acidity from the fresh vine leaves ….

Useful tips: 

If you’re on a diet, common bream is an excellent food choice. With only 96 calories and 17.5 grams of protein per 100g, its meat provides high-quality protein and is also rich in omega-3 fatty acids, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, and vitamin B6. These micronutrients are essential for maintaining good health.

LAST PAGE 

Fresh fish and seafood are summer’s big stars. Grill them over charcoal and enjoy them with good company!