Baked Zander with Tomatoes and Fried Onion in the Oven

Name: Baked Zander with Tomatoes and Fried Onion in the Oven
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 1 h 15 min
Cuisine: European
Ingredients: Zander fillet 4; Ripe tomatoes 0.5 kg (or 1 can of canned tomato pulp, 400 g); Garlic 2-3 cloves; Onion 2-3; Sugar scant tsp; Ground nutmeg a pinch (on the tip of a knife); Flour for dredging; Vegetable oil for frying; Salt, black pepper to taste

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1 h 15 mins

Baked zander is a delicious dish. And catching zander is a thrilling pastime, I know from experience. There are two possible outcomes: either the zander isn’t biting, or you can catch a great many. The most interesting moment is when greed gives way to the quality of the catch. As one famous basketball player said, what matters isn’t getting the ball into the basket, it’s getting it there beautifully.

From a culinary point of view, zander is a unique fish. Zander meat is lean and very tasty. Its health benefits come, first of all, from a very high protein content and very low fat. In addition, zander meat contains every amino acid known to science, as well as a rich set of trace elements and minerals.

But even though catching zander is a pleasure, cleaning it is rather tedious. First, the fins are very prickly. Second, the scales hold on tight and fly everywhere. And third, you can skip cleaning it altogether. I’m not joking. Traditionally we only gut zander: cut off the head, remove the fins and innards, and throw away the gills.

From the heads we make a rich fish soup, or cook the heads with garlic.

That’s a family tradition. The zander carcasses, scales and all, go in the freezer if there is a lot of fish.

When needed, the carcasses are thawed and the clean fillet is cut off. The skin with the scales, the bones, and the backbone with the tail are thrown away. People often object that I’m wasting the skin. I usually answer: don’t throw it away.

So, zander fillet is the two strips of meat cut from the carcass along the backbone on both sides. Carefully remove all the rib bones and any remains of the fins. By the way, the bits of fin along the edges of the fillet are unpleasant, because they contain lots of small, very sharp bones. It’s easier to trim them off the raw fillet than to pick them out of the finished dish. Zander fillet is ideal for frying and other methods of cooking.

Fried fish is pretty straightforward, but baked zander in the oven requires a few tricks. Cooking fish with dry heat can burn the top layer of the fillet while the inside is still raw.

So the question of how to cook zander is far from simple. For example, it’s quite hard to grill a fillet of zander cleanly. Fish on the grill often falls apart. Still, there are options. Battered fish is a favorite dish. Baked zander, like stuffed zander , is a much more interesting recipe and, most importantly, easy to repeat.

More with pike perch

Zander Fillet in Tomato Sauce

1 h

Batter for Fish Fillets

40 min

Baked Zander Fillet with Cheese

1 h 30 min

Stuffed Zander

1 h 30 min

Homemade Ukha Fish Soup

50 min

More zander recipes

Ingredients

4 servings

Zander fillet 4
Ripe tomatoes 0.5 kg (or 1 can of canned tomato pulp, 400 g)
Garlic 2-3 cloves
Onion 2-3
Sugar scant tsp
Ground nutmeg a pinch (on the tip of a knife)
Flour for dredging
Vegetable oil for frying
Salt, black pepper to taste

Step-by-step recipe

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How to prepare the zander fillet

Prepare the zander fillet. I strongly recommend removing all the bones, ribs and fins very thoroughly. Simply run a finger over the fillet: all the bones are easy to feel and easy to remove with a sharp knife. Lay the fillet on a plate skin side down. Season with salt and pepper to taste, then flip it seasoned side down and leave for 10 minutes.
Fry the fillet. Heat vegetable oil in a deep frying pan over medium heat. Dredge the zander fillet in flour and fry on both sides until golden. There’s no need to fry it until fully cooked. It’s enough for the total frying time to be about 5-6 mins.

How to prepare the tomatoes and onion

Prepare the tomatoes. The tomatoes should be as ripe as possible.
Pour boiling water over the tomatoes for 1 minute, then peel and seed them. Finely chop the tomato flesh with a knife.
By the way, you can use the canned tomato pulp sold in shops. One 400 g can is enough.
Season the tomatoes. Add a scant teaspoon of sugar (4 g) to the chopped tomato flesh, along with salt and pepper to taste, crushed garlic and a pinch of ground nutmeg. Mix everything together and set aside.
Cut the onion into strips and fry in vegetable oil over medium heat, stirring, until golden.

How to bake zander in the oven

Layer everything in a suitably sized baking dish. First, half of the chopped tomatoes, spread over the whole area. By the way, don’t try to cover every empty spot with tomato. Too many tomatoes isn’t good in this dish: baked zander shouldn’t turn out sweet and sour.
Lay the fried zander fillets on top of the tomatoes, arranging them so they can be lifted out in portions later.
Spread all the fried onion evenly over the fillets. Unlike tomatoes, you can use more onion. Spread the rest of the tomatoes over the onion. If there’s a little liquid left from the tomatoes, pour it evenly into the dish, but make sure the zander doesn’t swim in it.
Bake uncovered in an oven preheated to 220°C. Watch for the moment the liquid in the dish begins to boil, usually after 15-20 minutes. Cook for 30 minutes from the start of boiling, so 45-50 minutes in the oven in total. Still, if you feel it needs longer, use your judgment.

Serving

Carefully transfer the finished fish to plates with a spatula (or even two spatulas).
The tomatoes left in the dish can be spooned over the fish.
Serve with a platter of fresh vegetables: I recommend cucumbers, tomatoes and herbs with baked zander. A few thin slices of lemon, zest and all, are very good too. Baked zander goes wonderfully with dry white wine, give it a try.

Calories and macros

350 kcal

Serving ≈ 320 g

Protein40 g48% of kcal
Fat15 g41% of kcal
Carbs9 g11% of kcal

100 g110 kcalProtein 12.7 gFat 4.8 gCarbs 2.8 g

Calculated from the recipe ingredients, excluding salt and spices. Data: USDA and Matvaretabellen.

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