Aromatic porgy with fennel

Another new adventure we decided on having at Fresh Farms was porgy. I'd seen recipes in passing for this type of fish before, but I never really knew much about it--its flavour or texture. What we hadn't realized is that they're also commonly known as sea breams (which makes me suspect that we may have had it in France at some point). Thankfully, our classic Silver Spoon has quite a hefty section for porgy, so we actually combined two of the recipes to utilize some of the fresh herbs we had on hand.

Recipe

from Silver SpoonServes 21 lb porgy, cleaned and scaled1/2 fennel bulb, sliced3 garlic cloves, chopped3 small fresh thyme sprigs1 tbsp rosemary needles1-1/2 tbsp fresh parsley chopped3 tbsp olive oilSalt and pepperPreheat oven to 350 F. Boil fennel in seasoned water for ten minutes. Chop rosemary, parsley, thyme and garlic together with a pinch of salt. Full the cavity of the fish with the herbs and place in an ovenproof dish. Season fish with salt and pepper. Arrange fennel all around the fish. Drizzle olive oil over the fish and bake for 30 minutes, turning halfway through cooking.

Musings

Never having had porgy before, it was quite impressive. The fish was meaty, with great texture and firmness. It was flavourful and moist, and thankfully easy to de-bone. The herbs really were aromatic and added a great kick, but not too intrusive, as the flavor of the fish still came through. I loved pairing the sweetness of the fennel with a bite of fish. That, paired with some delicious mashed potatoes made for a wonderful meal. Porgy, we will return to you again!