A Mediterranean Menu: Grilled Whole Branzino Stuffed with Garlic and Rosemary, Santorini 'Fava' Split Pea Hummus, Dressed Grilled Fennel, Oranges, Olives, and Onions, Honey-Kissed Peaches in Prosecco
A Mediterranean menu to eat under the stars with friends
Summer transports me back to trips to the Mediterranean…azure blue seas kissed by cloudless skies. I’m sitting on a terrace overlooking the Ionian Sea with a proper drink in hand, or dreamily gazing out over the islands that dot the Italian Tyrrhenian. Here I am again contemplating the next meal at simple trattorias serving simple summer dishes. There are roasted meats and whole fish, pink prawns, squid, and mussels from the daily catch. Grilled octopus tenderized as it dries hung on clothesline to bake in the sun. Also, plates are offered piled high with crisp cucumbers, sweet onion, tomatoes, and briny block feta, or peak tomatoes dressed simply with fruity olive oil and fresh herbs, or violet eggplants with pale green and yellow-skinned zucchini sliced thin, dressed in olive oil, and grilled.
Food transports us and gives us a sense of place, The writer James Oseland captured this best when describing how food helped him learn about the world outside of his own.
“You’re tasting someplace else,” he said. “It’s almost like in some way all of the information and history and challenge and wonder and climate of that place is in what you’re eating.”
So, I cherish the summer in all of it’s sun and optimism. But also because it takes me away from the New England chill of winter to idyllic moments and past adventures traveling around the Adriatic…Greece, Sicily, Apulia. It brings back sweet memories made near balmy waters and reignites a thirst for the exhilaration of travel to new places. For now, I’ll settle for a menu to share with a crisp white wine and the conviviality of good friends.
Start with Santorini 'Fava' Yellow Split Pea Hummus garnished with caperberries and onions to serve with pita chips or zucchini and endive spears. Or, crusty bread. Or serve one of the simple salads above.
Plan on Grilled Whole Branzino Stuffed with Garlic and Fresh Rosemary cleaned by your local fishmonger. Alternatively, sea bass or lake trout would work well. Recipe below and also here
Serve with Dressed Grilled Fennel, Oranges, Dry-cured Black Olives, and Grilled Sweet Vidalia Onion. Simply cut fennel bulbs and large Vidalias in quarters (1 medium bulb and onion per 2 person serving) and toss in a Tablespoon of olive or avocado oil to coat. Grill 7-10 minutes on moderate heat, turning frequently, until the edges are caramel brown. Substitute these for fresh onion and fennel in the composed salad here. Serve on a platter dressed lightly with the sherry vinaigrette. Omit the cucumbers or add arugula, if you like.
Finish the evening with Honey-Kissed Peaches in Prosecco. Grill quartered peaches brushed with honey until they soften and just begin to release their juices. The concentrated flavor will make you not mind any mosquitoes that may be buzzing around on your summer’s eve. Serve the peaches in stemmed gasses dowsed with cold, effervescent Prosecco. Your guests can spoon up the fruit and then sip the bubbly while gazing up at the stars.
Grilled Whole Branzino Stuffed with Garlic and Fresh Rosemary
I had this dish sitting at a sidewalk café in Rome years ago, yet the memory of the delicate flesh lingers. It was offered simply whole, deboned at the table, along with crisp, thinly sliced potatoes. I’d happily serve it with grilled corn and sautéd greens or grilled radicchio. As the fish typically are small, 3-4 will likely serve 4. The preparation can also be done in a 425 degree oven.
3-4. whole branzino, heads removed if you prefer, cleaned by your provider
4 cloves of garlic, crushed
3 Tablespoons olive oil
9-10 sprigs rosemary
Sea salt
Fresh ground black pepper
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Peel the garlic, split each clove, and remove any inner green sprout. Crush or bruise each half to release their aroma. Add the garlic with olive oil to a smll microwavable prep bowl. Microwave on medium high to warm the olive oil about 40 seconds taking care the garlic doesn’t brown. Let the cloves rest in the warm oil for ten minutes.
Place two large square sheets of aluminum foil on a sheet tray. Brush each with olive oil lightly. Lay three whole sprigs of rosemary spaced three inches on the foil. I like to use a silicone pastry brush to brush the interior of each fish with garlic oil and then stuff an additional sprig inside each. Brush the skin of each fish with remaining oil. Squeeze lemon generously over the interior flesh.
Place two fish side by side in the center of each packet and tent the foil around the fish without sealing. Bring the sheet tray to the grill and transfer the fish packets. Grill over low to medium heat for 12-20 minutes checking frequently until the flesh is opaque and moist, but no longer translucent when cut into. Remove immediately and allow to rest five minutes. The fish will continue to cook. Remove the center skeletal bone, if remaining, and rosemary sprigs Beware small bones may frequently remain when serving.