Pagre à la Plancha Corse — Sea Bream with Maquis Herbs — Cook

Ingredients

4 × 400 g sea bream (Sparus aurata), whole, scaled and gutted, scored 3 times per side through the skin
40 ml olive oil (Olea europaea), for rubbing
8 g sea salt, flaked, mineral
4 sprigs wild fennel, Finochju Salvaticu (Foeniculum vulgare var. dulce), fresh, from the maquis; cultivated fennel is not a substitute
2 lemons, halved; for service at table only
4 sprigs Nepita (Calamintha nepeta), fresh; placed alongside fish on the plancha during cooking
For the aioli
2 cloves Corsican garlic (Allium sativum), island variety if available
2 egg yolks
200 ml olive oil (Olea europaea), for emulsifying
1 tsp lemon juice, for the aioli only — not applied to the fish on the plancha

Method

1
Preheat the plancha to 220 °C minimum. A drop of water placed on the surface must evaporate on contact within one second. A cooler surface will cause the fish to steam rather than sear, and the skin will tear.
2
Score each fish three times per side, cutting through the skin to the bone. Rub the fish on all surfaces with olive oil and sea salt. Press fresh Finochju Salvaticu into the scored cuts and against the skin.
3
Lay the fish skin-side down on the plancha. Place a sprig of Nepita alongside each fish so that the rising steam is perfumed as the fish cooks. Do not move the fish. Hold for exactly 4 minutes. The fish is ready to turn when the flesh on the side of the fish has turned opaque 60% of the way up from the skin — visible at the lateral edge.
4
Turn the fish once onto the flesh side and cook for 3 minutes. The skin, now facing upward, will be lacquered and amber-brown. Total cooking time must not exceed 7 minutes for a 400 g fish.
5
Remove the fish from the plancha and rest for 2 minutes off the heat. Carry-over cooking from the high plancha temperature continues during this period. The flesh yields cleanly from the bone when pressed; the skin remains crisp under light finger pressure.
6
Serve with aioli made from Corsican garlic, fresh olive oil, and egg yolks, prepared separately. Finish at table with a drizzle of olive oil, fresh Finochju Salvaticu, and a squeeze of lemon applied by the diner. Lemon must not contact the fish on the plancha — acid at cooking temperature degrades the crust.