Sardinas en Sal

From the oven emerges a spectacular golden crust of baked salt. Cracked open it reveals whole fish, steamed in their own evaporated juices. The taste is unlike fish cooked using any other method — sweet, rich and, surprisingly, not salty. Traditionally from the Mediterranean coast of Spain, this salt crust method is also used to cook sea bream or snapper, so translates perfectly to the Australian kitchen. It is best to keep the scales on the fish to protect the fish from the salt.