Oven-baked coregone (lavarello) with a breadcrumb crust

Living on Lake Garda, I am lucky to have very fresh fish available. Here I had rather large coregone, or European whitefish, fillets and made this really tasty recipe with a crisp crust that keeps the fish tender, I allowed half a coregone fillet per portion because they were very large; if yours are not, allow 2 per person.

INGREDIENTS FOR 4 PEOPLE

4 SKINLESS COREGONE FILLETS

BREADCRUMB COATING

80 G BREADCRUMBS

40 G GRATED PARMESAN

4 DRIED TOMATOES

1 TABLESPOON CAPERS

HERBS (thyme, basil, parsley, oregano)

1 GARLIC CLOVE

EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL

GRATED ZEST OF 1 LEMON

BUTTER AS NEEDED

SALT

PEPPER

I remove any bones with tweezers. I put the breadcrumbs and grated cheese on a plate.

I finely chop the tomatoes, capers, herbs and garlic, if you like it.

I add the chopped mixture to the breadcrumbs, season with salt and pepper, add a splash of oil and mix well.

I oil the coregone fillets on both sides and coat one side in the breadcrumb mixture, pressing firmly so it sticks.

Then the other side.

I line a tray with baking parchment and lightly oil it, arrange the fillets, scatter over any remaining breadcrumb mixture and add plenty of small knobs of butter.

I preheat the oven to 170°C, using a fan oven, and cook for 15 minutes. I served them with sautéed courgettes.

Serve hot, finishing with grated lemon zest and a drizzle of oil.