Pelengas does not belong to delicious fish varieties, but this does not prevent many gourmets from treating him with great respect. A small number of bones, snow-white flavorful meat, a dense but not hard skin, and at the same time a low price are the main features of this fish.
What just do not cook from bearing! He is fried and baked, salted and smoked, pickled in Korean and minced with his meat for minced meat, lasagna, fish dumplings. The relatively low cost, even in times of crisis, makes this fish an excellent option for a daily menu. But its excellent taste withstands competition even at the festive table. Thinking over the menu for a solemn feast, do not disregard this fish, the main decoration of the table may well be a bearing.
In the oven, it is usually cooked whole. This allows you to keep the meat juicy, and such a treat looks just like a royal.
Fish preparation
It’s not easy to clean bearings from bearing scales. Scales can be removed easily, but scattered throughout the kitchen. If possible, leave the case to the seller, but ask him not to touch the insides.
If you have to deal with an uncleaned fish yourself, arm yourself with a special cleaner and proceed. Better to start with the tail. Be especially careful in the area of the fins - tough small scales hide under them.
Use a pair of pliers (or special forceps, if you have one) to remove the gills. The baked pelengas in the oven looks more spectacular with the head, if possible, keep it in place.
Belly or back?
Why not rush into the insides? Many professionals advise cutting large fish with delicate fat not from the abdomen, but from the back. This will keep tender fatty meat on the stomach. Otherwise, all the juices and fat will melt through the incision. And it’s so much easier to get rid of the spine.
Make an incision with a very sharp knife along the entire back, draw it on both sides of the ridge. Cut the spine with scissors near the tail and near the head, it will give in easily, and the ribs will stretch behind it. Carefully remove the insides, being careful not to damage the pouch with bile. Rinse the carcass under running water, remove the films from the inner surface of the abdominal cavity. By the way, do not forget that the liver is edible and tasty in this fish. It can be cooked, like pelengas itself, in the oven, along with vegetables.
Additional components
For this recipe you can use any favorite vegetables: turnips, green peas, asparagus and asparagus beans, eggplant, broccoli, many varieties of onions. Suitable for the recipe and mushrooms.
Pelengas in the oven, the recipe of which is given in this article, is stuffed with young zucchini, carrots, onions and herbs.
Cut vegetables into small cubes, fry in oil separately. Then mix and stew briefly in half a glass of white wine. Add a pinch of a mixture of peppers, coriander and salt.
Stuffing
Rub the fish with salt inside and out. Lemon juice is another component that can be used in this recipe if desired. Thanks to him, you will get an even more delicate and fragrant bearing in the oven.
The photo shows how to distribute the filling. And so that the fish does not fall apart, tie it with culinary thread, pin it with toothpicks or just sew a cut on the back.
In foil, in a sleeve or without anything?
There are a huge number of baking options. You can lay the fish on a pillow of onion rings, herbs and roots, then you get a crispy golden crust. If you like tender meat, send a bearing to the baking sleeve, this will preserve all the juices and aromas. But when cooking the lost moisture will remain in the sleeve, the fish will be stewed.
Pelengas in the oven in the foil cooks faster, due to the fact that the foil holds the temperature. In a word, do as you wish.
Baking in the oven
Preheat the oven to 170 degrees. Set the pan in the middle position and bake until cooked. Pelengas in the oven as a whole takes longer to bake than fish pieces, it will be completely cooked in about 30-40 minutes.
How to check readiness? The main sign is the stable aroma of the finished fish, which by the end of cooking will spread throughout the apartment. For fidelity, you can pierce the pulp with a bamboo long skewer - it should go in easily.
Serving and Garnishing
Should I serve a side dish to such a dish as baked pelengas? In the oven, the fish was cooked already with vegetables, and the dish can be called self-sufficient. However, compared with the fish portion of vegetables, there are very few. Therefore, it will be quite logical to serve mashed potatoes or boiled friable rice as a side dish.
This dish can also be a great addition to pasta. Choose such forms that hold the sauce well: shells, horns, spirals.
White fish with a low sugar content is traditionally served with fish dishes. But the pelengas baked in the oven with vegetables turns out to be quite expressive and high-calorie, so it can be served as a snack with strong alcohol.
As drinks with this dish, tomato or vegetable juice, cranberry juice, mineral water go well.
It is best to serve a whole bearing to a table on a large flat dish - this will create a real sensation. Be sure to remove the holding threads or skewers first. The fish can be laid out on lettuce or iceberg leaves, garnished with olives, thin lemon slices, viburnum berries, herbs. When setting the table, do not forget about fish table knives and forks.