How to cook a traditional Greek baked fish plaki

I love mixing traditional recipes with unexpected flavors, just as I love eating sweet and salty things together, or fusing the different cuisines I've come across while having lived on three different continents. I am also always on the lookout for ways to incorporate all our products in my dinners and create new recipes...or maybe ideas would be more accurate, since I want you to be inspired to enjoy them and maybe even add your own special twist.

Here is my latest recipe, which I'd made as an antidote to all the meat we'd been eating over the holidays and as a way to sneak in some extra vitamin C and antioxidents into our diet for a healthy new year. I took a traditional Greek baked fish dish, plakí, and added two favorites from Tragano Greek Organics - pitted organic Kalamata olives and my secret ingredient to add a punch to all sorts of dishes -  sea fennel! 

Sea fennel goes by many names - rock samphire, kritamo, crithmum maritimum…whatever you call it, just add this little superfood to your favorite dishes for a taste of the Greek sea and a nice dose of vitamin C and anti-oxidants.  The plant traditionally grows wild on rocky coastlines but is now sustainably cultivated in Greece and then jarred in an all-natural brine for a unique taste and texture - perfect for my fish dish!  I hope you enjoy it, too.

Ingredients for traditional greek baked fish plaki

2-3 lbs white fish (halibut, flounder, branzino)

2 onions

1 green bell pepper

4-5 cloves garlic

1 14oz can diced tomatoes or 2-3 well-ripened fresh tomatoes

1 handful chopped parsley

15-20  Tragano Greek Organics pitted Kalamata olives

6-8 sprigs Tragano Greek Organics Sea Fennel

1 cup dry white wine

1 cup Tragano Greek Organics Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 tsp Sparoza Greek Fisherman's Mix

How to make a traditional Greek baked fish plaki

In a large bowl, thinly slice with a mandolin the onions, bell pepper and garlic. Add the tomatoes and parsley and mix well. 

Place half of the veggie mixture in a deep baking sheet.

Thoroughly wash the fish and place it on top of the mixture.

Season the fish with the Sparoza herbs and then cover it with the rest of the veggie mixture.

Pour the wine and olive oil over it all, making sure the liquids are evenly spread.

Add the olives and sea fennel around the fish and bake in a 400℉ oven for one hour.

You can garnish with some extra sea fennel for more zest when serving. Enjoy!

For a heartier version, try our friend Panos' version of plaki, with tomatoes and potatoes...and of course, sea fennel!