Gilthead Bream Fillets with Lemon

The gilthead bream fillets with lemon are a light and delicious dish, with the fresh flavor of lemon perfectly matching the delicate taste of the gilthead bream. Here’s how to prepare them in the Italian way:

Ingredients

• 4 gilthead bream fillets (about 150-200g each)
• 1 organic lemon (for juice and zest)
• 2 cloves of garlic
• Chopped fresh parsley
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 180 °C.
2. Wash the lemon well and grate some of its zest, setting it aside. Squeeze the lemon to get the juice.
3. In a lightly oiled baking dish with extra virgin olive oil, lay down the gilthead bream fillets. Season them with salt and pepper to taste.
4. Peel the garlic cloves and slightly crush them with the side of a knife. Put the garlic in the baking dish, alongside the gilthead bream fillets.
5. Drizzle the fillets with the freshly squeezed lemon juice and sprinkle them with the previously grated zest.
6. Sprinkle the chopped parsley on the gilthead bream fillets.
7. Bake and cook for about 15-20 minutes, or until the fillets are cooked but still juicy.
8. At the end of cooking, remove the garlic cloves and serve the gilthead bream fillets hot, perhaps accompanied by steamed vegetables or a fresh mixed salad.

Trivia

The gilthead bream is a fish highly appreciated in Mediterranean cuisine for its white and delicate flesh. It adapts to many cooking methods, but the lemon version is one of the simplest and at the same time most sophisticated. Lemon, besides conferring an irresistible aroma, has the property of enhancing the flavor of the fish without overpowering it.