Greek Baked Fish with Ginger-Lemon Olive Oil (Psari Plaki-Style)

About This Recipe

Psari plaki is a traditional Greek baked fish dish, where fish is slow-roasted with potatoes, tomatoes, onion, and olive oil until everything melds into a rustic, homey one-pan meal. This version adds fresh grated ginger to the olive oil base alongside the traditional lemon, an unconventional but pleasant addition found in some contemporary Greek coastal restaurants looking to brighten the dish with a bit more zing. The technique for a proper plaki-style bake is layering: potatoes go down first since they take longest to cook, tomatoes and onions build a rustic sauce around them, and the fish is added partway through so it doesn't overcook while the vegetables finish softening. A generous amount of olive oil poured over everything before baking is essential -- Greek baked fish dishes are traditionally quite oil-forward, which is part of what makes them so satisfying. Served straight from the baking dish with crusty bread, this dish reflects the simple, ingredient-driven cooking found in Greek coastal villages, where fresh fish and a well-stocked olive oil jug can turn humble vegetables into a full meal.

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 4white fish fillets or steaks(cod or halibut, about 150g each)
• 4potatoes(thinly sliced)
• 1onion(thinly sliced)
• 3tomatoes(sliced)
• 0.5 cupolive oil
• 1 tbspfresh ginger(grated)
• 1lemon(zested and juiced)
• 3 clovesgarlic(minced)
• 1.5 tspsalt
• 1 tspdried oregano
• 0.25 cupparsley(chopped)

Instructions

1. 1

   Make the ginger-lemon oil

   Whisk olive oil with grated ginger, lemon zest, lemon juice, garlic, salt, and oregano.

2. 2

   Layer the potatoes

   Preheat oven to 190C/375F. Arrange sliced potatoes in a baking dish and drizzle with half the ginger-lemon oil.

3. 3

   Pre-bake the potatoes

   Bake potatoes 25 minutes until nearly tender.

4. 4

   Add fish and tomatoes

   Remove from oven, nestle fish fillets among the potatoes, and top with sliced onion and tomatoes.

5. 5

   Finish baking

   Drizzle remaining ginger-lemon oil over everything. Bake 20-25 more minutes until the fish flakes easily and potatoes are fully tender.

6. 6

   Serve

   Scatter with fresh parsley and serve straight from the baking dish with crusty bread.

Variations

• •

  Skip the ginger for a completely traditional psari plaki flavor profile.

• •

  Use shrimp instead of fish fillets, adding them only in the last 8-10 minutes of baking.

• •

  Add sliced bell peppers along with the tomatoes and onion for more vegetables.

Storage

Refrigerate up to 2 days. Reheat gently in a low oven to avoid overcooking the fish further; the potatoes and tomatoes hold up well to reheating.

Frequently Asked Questions