These hot cheese olives are a tasty pick-up appetizer or snack that include a savory olive encased in a rich cheese crust. The unbaked, dough-wrapped olives can be baked straight from the freezer, adding a few extra minutes to the baking process.
| Prep Time: | 15 mins |
| Cook Time: | 25 mins |
| Total Time: | 40 mins |
| Servings: | 4 |
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 1 red onion, chopped
- salt and ground black pepper to taste
- 2 whole Branzino (sea bass) fish, cleaned
- 4 lemon wedges, divided
- 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
- ½ cup white wine
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon fresh oregano leaves
- ¼ cup chopped Italian flat-leaf parsley
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
- Drizzle 1 tablespoon olive oil into a large baking pan; add red onion and season with salt and pepper.
- Place 2 whole fish into the baking pan. Stuff each cavity with 1 lemon wedge, 1 rosemary sprig, and some of the red onion in the pan. Pour white wine and lemon juice over fish and sprinkle with oregano. Drizzle remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil over fish.
- Bake in the preheated oven until fish is opaque and flakes easily with a fork, about 25 minutes.
- Gently slide a spatula between the bones to separate fish; remove all the bones. Serve fish on a platter; garnish with parsley and 2 lemon wedges.
- If desired, sprinkle red pepper flakes on top of the fish before cooking to add a little zip to the flavor.
- Vegetables such as celery, pepper, or tomatoes can also be added to the pan and fish cavity.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 380 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 7 g |
| Cholesterol | 117 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 1 g |
| Protein | 53 g |
| Saturated Fat | 2 g |
| Sodium | 237 mg |
| Sugars | 2 g |
| Fat | 13 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
Amazing! Brought back memories of dining in an Italian restaurant in Sardinia & Bella Napoli. Easy to make also
I made everything in advance then let it marinate in the refrigerator for about an hour in all of it’s ingredients. It’s so much better this way and you can taste the difference!
Za’atar & oregano & thyme. Excellent fish for any occasion.
This is absolutely DELICIOUS!!! I make it exactly as the recipe calls out and every time we fight for the last bite. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe.
Delicious, my husband even like it . Nice flavor will be making again .
It was delicious and fairly easy to make. I added tomatoes and red pepper flakes like it said on notes. I also added additional lemon juice and baked at 350 for an additional 15 min then broiled it for another 5 mins to get the top a little coloring.
Easy and delicious! This has become a standard Item on dinner menu now. My picky daughters love it too!
Loved recipe but had to cook longer on 400.
Made as stated. Delicious. Will certainly make again.
Divided this recipe in half for just my husband and me. Only substitutions were sweet onions and dried oregano because they were what I had on hand, and it still turned out amazing. Took longer (40 min. total) than anticipated at 325 degrees. Next time, will try baking at 350 degrees. What a moist, delicious recipe!
This works perfectly. The exact cooking times will depend on how big your fish are. I’ve made it many times and it always comes out moist and tender. I’ve also used orata instead of branzino. Thank you for the recipe.
Delicious and easy, made as written, will finish it under th
Don’t be intimidated by cooking with the head on. If you just can’t stand the thought of it staring at you while you are trying to eat, cut the head off prior to plating. This recipe is very easy to prepare and so tasty. It’s light and healthy worth the price.
The temperature was way too low as others have commented on. After 25 min at 325 degrees the fish was still raw. Turned the fish over and increased temp to 400 degrees and put on bottom rack for another 25 min and was just about done. Will try at 400 degrees on the bottom rack next time. Very clean tasting fish.
(I “cheated” and had the Branzino filleted, although I did keep the rest of the fish/head for fish stock–couldn’t waste that!) I didn’t have white wine, so I used some vegetable stock in place of that. This recipe turned out delish!
Omg ! Best recipe the white wine just added so much flavor. Made it for tonight’s dinner & the whole family loved it. Although I cooked it on 400 degrees for 30 mins to get it nicely golden brown the inside was so flaky & the cavity came out so easy it just fell off! Thanks for the recipe !!
Excellent! I didn’t think it would come out as good as it did. I followed the recipe to the T with the exception of the oven temp and cooking time. I cooked on Conv Bake at 400° and about 50 minutes. My Branzino were 1 lb. with the head (which I had taken off). I sprinkled sea salt on the top of the Branzino before it went in the oven. Highly recommend!
My 1st time preparing this Branzino. I followed the recipe but put a couple scallions in each cavity and roasted for about 45 mins. It was delicious. Thank you for sharing the recipe!
I made it with the tomatoes and celery inside. And based on other reviews cooked at 400 and ended up taking a total of 50 min. It was incredibly moist and delicious. We cannot wait to make it again!!
How did you come up with cooking time of 25-30 minutes? I am now 45 minutes in and it is still not done! Maybe you like raw fish, I only like it as sushi!
I followed the recipe as written. It was delicious. I have never had this fish before but I will now again and again. I did cook it for 30 minutes and put it under the broiler on low for 3 minutes, only because my husband prefers crispy fish skin. Thank you for sharing.