Japanese gurnard on a bed of spinach

Ingredients for 2 servings:

• 1 fish (Japanese gurnard)
• 1 shallot(s), quartered
• 1 garlic clove(s), quartered
• herbal salt
• 1 leaf of white cabbage, can also be another leaf
• 1 ½ kg sea salt, grey
• 2 egg whites
• 450 g spinach, can also be leaf spinach or pak choi
• 1 garlic clove(s), finely chopped
• 1 shallot(s), finely diced
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• Sea salt from the mill
• Pepper, black and white from the mill
• 100 g cream cheese

Instructions

Working time approx. 30 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 40 minutes; Total time approx. 1 hour 10 minutes

Prepared in a salt crust – a delight!

When buying gurnard, have the spines removed immediately. Preheat the oven to 225°C (top/bottom heat). For the salt coating, beat the egg whites until stiff. Then gradually stir in the gray sea salt (this works great in a food processor, for example, where it creates a really creamy mixture). Clean the fish (be careful if the spines are still attached to the mouth), pat it dry, then season the inside with the herb salt and stuff it with quartered shallots and garlic. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spread the salt dough to a thickness of about 1 cm, the width and length of the fish. Cover the fish with the cabbage leaf at the belly opening and place it on the salt dough. I don’t want the inside of the fish to come into contact with the salt dough. Now cover the fish all over with the salt dough. Make sure there are no holes left. Place the baking tray on the middle rack of the oven and set the time for 40 minutes. Wash the spinach and remove the stalks. Heat the olive oil in a large pot and sauté the garlic and shallots. Be careful not to overbrown the garlic, or it will become bitter. Add the spinach and let it wilt, stirring frequently. When the liquid has almost evaporated, stir in the cream cheese and season the spinach to taste. This essentially creates a sauce for the fish. When the spinach is ready, the fish will be ready almost at the same time. Remove the spinach and the baking sheet from the oven. Place the plates in the oven to preheat. Cut a slit into the salt dough layer from the top; this allows you to remove the spine ridge at the same time. Remove the dough from the sides as well, then the skin. Make sure the fish meat stays separate from the gray sea salt. Remove the skin. Loosen the fillets along the bones. Place the spinach in a narrow row on the preheated plates and add the sauce. Arrange the fish on top and serve immediately. I like to add seasoning. But this was not necessary here at all!