Roasting

There is a fair bit of confusion when this term is used in relation to fish. Some people use the word baking, while lots of fish in restaurants are actually pan-fried and finished in the oven and called roasted or pan-roasted. In this section we will cook fish both ways: straight into the oven and started on top of the stove. Be careful when roasting fish, as they have a delicate, lean flesh – we don’t want the oven’s fierce dry heat to destroy the texture. For this reason make sure you preheat your oven; you will generally need a higher temperature the smaller the piece of fish is. The larger the fish the more likely it is that moisture will be added, such as wine, olive oil or tomatoes, or possibly all three. It is possible to cook fish on very low temperatures, at about 45–60°C (115–140°F), and get an incredible texture in the mouth. The fish will look for all intents and purposes as if it is raw, but the flesh has been set at the low temperature and it will cut like cooked fish. If you cook it submerged in olive oil the process is called confit. It is by this process that Sydney-based Tetsuya Wakuda, one of the world’s great chefs, creates his signature dish Confit of ocean trout.