Pelengas – sea fish, whose meat is rich in vitamins, minerals, polyunsaturated fatty acids, in particular, Omega-3. The main advantage of the pelengas fish – low calorie (85 kcal / 100 g), as well as a pleasant taste. The meat is devoid of unpleasant smell, different elasticity, if you bake it in the oven, you will get a nutritious meal for the whole family!
How to properly prepare the pelengas fish? Instructions with photos
Cooking begins with a selection of fish. It is better to buy it in supermarkets, but not in spontaneous markets. It is recommended to give preference to carcasses whose weight is about 2-3 kg.
Having bought fish for baking with vegetables in the oven, quickly remove the scales from it, separate the fins, and gut the carcass. When doing the last job, carefully separate the head, making an incision as close as possible to the gills, otherwise you risk damaging the gallbladder. For the same reason, the carcass cannot be cut in half, make an incision only on the abdomen. Now remove the insides, if the bubble with bile still burst, then proceed as follows:
- wash the meat, then soak it in clean water for about 30 minutes;
- another way is to put the carcass in a weak salt solution for 10-15 minutes, and then wash it with water;
- You can anoint the abdomen with a small amount of apple cider vinegar, and then rinse it.
If you bake the fish head-on (completely), be sure to remove your eyes and gills, otherwise, the pelengas fish will acquire a not very pleasant aroma during the heat treatment process.
Important! If you are preparing frozen pelengas in the oven, then it is recommended to leave the fish for the night on the work surface, placing it in a deep bowl. Do not defrost it in the microwave, otherwise, the meat will be welded and tasteless.
Step by step marinade cooking
You can cook pelengas fish with simple fillings, using a lot of lemon juice, a small amount of onion and pepper. In this case, the cleaned carcass must be marinated using the following recipes:
- mix 1 Tsp. mustard and sour cream, add to the 1 tbsp. l lemon juice;
- mix 1 tbsp. l rapeseed or any other oil, 20-30 ml of lemon juice and the same amount of salty soy sauce;
- Mix 20 ml of vegetable oil with dry seasoning or Italian herbs.
Any of the marinades must be smeared with pelengas inside and outside, sprinkled with lemon juice, and then left for half an hour. The meat is marinated very quickly, it should be salted immediately before cooking.
Important! If you make a multi-component marinade is not possible, then mix in a deep container a pinch of black pepper, also coriander, nutmeg, and salt, and then sprinkle the carcass with the dry mixture.
Recipe stuffed pelengas for cooking in foil
You will need a baking sheet, a foil roll, and the following components:
- 1 carcass pelengas weighing 2.5 kg;
- 1 kg of potatoes;
- 1 pc. tomato, bell pepper and lemon;
- a mix of seasonings for cooking fish;
- 2 tbsp. l vegetable oil;
- greens, garlic;
- 2 pcs. onions.
Step by Step Cooking
Clean the fish, it is recommended to leave the head. Grate the carcass pickle, which includes 1 tbsp. l vegetable oil and dry spices, leave it for 20 minutes. Take vegetables:
- peel vegetables, remove seeds from them;
- cut tomatoes, lemon with zest and onion in half rings, pepper – into strips or cubes, potatoes – in circles
- chop 1-2 cloves of garlic and greens.
Make cuts on the carcass, put lemon slices in them. Tomatoes, a mixture of garlic and herbs, Bulgarian pepper and salt, and mix onions. Add to the filling 1 tsp. lemon juice and seasonings, mix the components, shift them into the abdomen pelengas. After this, the incision site can be fixed using ordinary wooden toothpicks.
Cover the baking sheet with foil, put a layer of potatoes on it, then fish. Wrap the foil, send the dish in the oven for about 50-60 minutes. After this period, slightly open the foil, add the temperature and bake the pelengas fish for another 10 minutes to create a crust. Checking the readiness, gently press the meat with your finger. If a thick white juice is produced, then the pelengas is ready for use.
Pelengas in the oven on a pillow of mushrooms
This dish has a very pleasant taste. To create it, prepare the following components:
- 1 pelengas, gutted, scaly and headless. The average weight is 1.5-2 kg;
- about 700 grams of mushrooms, if you really like mushrooms, you can use 1 kg;
- 400 g of hard cheese;
- vegetable oil;
- 100 ml of white wine;
- ½ part lemon;
- mayonnaise or sour cream – 100 g;
- greens, seasonings, salt.
Preparation and marinating
Cut the prepared pelengas carcass into portions, their thickness should be from 5 to 8 cm. Now, in a deep container, mix wine, seasonings, salt, as well as lemon juice or citrus, sliced. Portion pieces need to shift into a bowl, combine with the marinade, slightly mash with your hands. All, leave the pelengas for at least 20 minutes.
Vegetables and other ingredients
Wash and slice the mushrooms, do not make the pieces too thin, they will significantly decrease during the heat treatment. Grate the cheese on a coarse grater, and then cut the foil to form large rectangles or squares. The shape depends on the size of the fish pieces.
Cooking process
The most crucial stage of preparing portion pieces of pelengas in the oven has arrived:
- Spreadsheet of foil with mayonnaise or sour cream;
- layout a pillow of mushrooms;
- on mushrooms – pieces of fish that can be sprinkled with lemon juice.
Close the edges of the foil, then send the improvised pouches into the oven for 20 minutes. 5 minutes before cooking using a fork, you must open the bags, sprinkle the fish with grated cheese. The dish is baked for another 5 minutes, after which it can immediately be eaten! It is noteworthy that this recipe allows you to serve fish on the table in foil.
Pelengas fish cooked in the oven is very tender; it is easily separated from the bones. This dish is independent, before serving; you can decorate the pieces with mayonnaise, lemon slices, green peas, pre-laid them on sheets of fresh salad!