Crispy-Skin Branzino with Fennel, Orange and Olives

Skin-on branzino fillets seared until the skin crackles, set over a raw salad of shaved fennel, orange and green olives. Scaled for 1 lb of branzino from Svenfish.

Why branzino

Branzino fillets are thin, with skin that crisps fast. Almost all the cooking happens on the skin side, so the flesh stays moist and the whole thing is done in about five minutes. The salad underneath is raw and sharp, which is what the rich, crisp skin wants next to it.

Ingredients

• 1 lb branzino fillets, skin on
• Kosher salt and black pepper
• 1 tbsp neutral oil
• 1 fennel bulb, halved, cored and sliced as thin as you can, fronds saved
• 1 navel orange
• 10 green olives (Castelvetrano if you can find them), smashed and pitted
• 3 tbsp good olive oil
• 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
• Pinch of red pepper flakes

Instructions

1. Cut the peel and pith off the orange, then slice it into thin rounds. Toss the fennel, orange, olives, olive oil, vinegar, red pepper flakes and a good pinch of salt in a bowl. Let it sit while you cook the fish; the fennel softens a little and the orange juice becomes part of the dressing.
2. Pat the fillets very dry, especially the skin. Score the skin with 2 or 3 shallow cuts so the fillets don't curl. Salt both sides.
3. Heat the neutral oil in the skillet over medium-high until it shimmers. Lay the fillets in skin-side down, away from you, and press each one flat with a spatula for the first 20 seconds.
4. Cook without moving them for 4 minutes, until the skin is deep golden and the flesh has turned opaque most of the way up the side.
5. Flip and give them 30 seconds, then take the pan off the heat.
6. Pile the fennel salad on two plates with some of its juices, set the fish on top skin-side up so it stays crisp, and finish with the fennel fronds and black pepper.

Pro tips

• If the skin sticks when you try to lift it, it isn't ready. Give it another 30 seconds and it will release on its own.
• Fish on top, not under the salad. Wet salad on crisp skin undoes the last four minutes.
• No fennel? Thin-sliced celery and a handful of parsley leaves work the same way.

Order fresh branzino for home delivery across Massachusetts, or pick it up at our Acton store.