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1
Light the wood embers well in advance so they are at a steady, ash-white glow with no open flame, or preheat the oven to 220 °C. Lay the fig leaves flat and confirm they are supple and moist — a stiff or dry leaf signals it cannot form a proper steam parcel.
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2
In a small bowl, combine the brocciu, chopped nepita, lemon zest, and a pinch of sea salt. Mix briefly. The filling must be homogeneous but is not worked further — overworking loosens it.
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3
Open each gutted fish. Confirm the liver is still seated in the cavity; do not remove it. Spoon exactly one teaspoon of the brocciu mixture into each cavity — no more. The cavity should be lightly filled, not distended. A filled-but-unclosed cavity is correct; if the fish sides are forced apart, the filling has been over-measured and must be reduced. This is where the dish lives or dies: too much filling splits the fish on the heat and the interior baste is lost; too little and the lactic richness that amplifies the red mullet's sweetness is absent.
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4
Place each fish on two overlapping fresh fig leaves. Wrap firmly, folding the leaves around the fish so the parcel is fully enclosed with no gaps. Secure with kitchen twine if needed. The parcel should feel taut and the leaves should hold without tearing — a sound, sealed parcel is essential to create the internal steam environment.
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5
Grill the parcels over wood embers or roast in the 220 °C oven for eight to ten minutes, turning once at the halfway point if grilling. The fig leaf will take on clear grill marks or darken and char lightly at the edges in the oven; the coconut-vanilla and nepita aromas will be distinct and clean. An acrid or charred smell indicates the grill is too hot or the leaves have dried through — adjust immediately.
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6
Open one parcel to test. The fish interior must be opaque white-pink throughout with no translucency at the bone. The brocciu and retained liver will have melted together into a small pool of lactic-mineral liquid at the base of the cavity. A translucent interior requires one to two minutes more, parcels rewrapped.