Psari Plaki is a Greek-style fish baked in the oven with tomatoes, onions, and olive oil. Serve this with some good-quality feta and crusty bread for a complete and hearty meal!
Updated on April 4th, 2018: New content, new recipe instructions, and new photos. Huzzah!
Originally published on September 10th, 2015.
Hello, friends!
I hope you're having a fantabulous week! I also hope you'll forgive me for being on this crazy-inconsistent blogging cycle. Every time I try to get back in, something comes up and I have to decide which project will go to the backburner. Unfortunately, it's had to be the blog in most cases (which is probably obvious at this point, yeah?), but you guys. Really. I 👏🏼 am 👏🏼 working 👏🏼 on 👏🏼 it 👏🏼
For realsies.
I'm still figuring out how often I'll be able to put out new content; I have tons of photos in the backlog already and I am excited to share them all with you! Once I have that sorted, you'll be the first to know. Life has more or less come back to "normal" as my client work has dissipated, I'm ramped up on the new job, and I'm back from vacation! Not too shabby.
And yes, new job! Same company, same team (for the most part), but a new role! I transitioned in late February and the new gig involves lots of tasty food photography. That's the most of what I want to share about it at this time, but I get to work with amazing people every day and I'll be able to squeeze in some travel here and there too. I absolutely love it.
As for vacation, more on that soon! I recently went to Trinidad and Tobago with Jay and some friends. It was an amazing time and I have photos and stories to share. I was actually going to post about it this week, but I still haven't had a chance to sort through all the photos. Instead, I've decided to update this psari plaki post to spruce it up a bit, which is something I've been meaning to do for a while anyway! Just don't ask me how long ago I took the photos for this update, mmmkay?
Psari plaki (pronounced PSAH-ree plah-KEE) is a Greek-style baked fish with olive oil, tomatoes, and onions. It's a light and healthy meal that's paleo and whole30-friendly (win-win for anyone living that life these days) and it's mighty tasty. There are other versions of this dish that might call for wine or breadcrumbs, but growing up, my dad always used a bunch of alliums (usually a combo of leeks and onions), tomatoes, and olive oil. And he seasoned it with rigani (Greek oregano), some salt, and a little black pepper. Simplicity at its finest.
And for your quick Greek lesson today: "Psari" is the Greek word for fish and "plaki" basically means to bake in the oven (usually with some veggies). All of that for one word, you might ask? Yes, sort of - us Greeks are complicated people. The more literal translation of plaki is a flat stone, and when there's a dish called plaki, it means it's cooked on a flat dish in the oven. I normally make this with cod, but haddock works nicely too.
This is one of my favorite meals to eat in the summer (though it does involve using the oven on a hot day), but it also tastes great any time of year. I personally prefer to let this dish cool down and eat it at room temperature. It's also one of the few fish-type meals I can eat the next day because I'll just eat it cold; no reheating required! I am not about that "microwaving fish" life.
If you're using an oven-safe stainless steel skillet, this can easily be a one-pan meal. After sauteeting the veggies, you'll just tuck the fish into the pan and cover it up. No oven-safe skillet? No sweat. The number of dishes will still be on the lighter side.
One more shot of that food porn before getting to the recipe goods.
Aww, yeah. That's what I'm talking about. Don't forget to serve this with feta (the good kind) and a nice, crusty bread.
Until next time, friends!
Psari Plaki (Greek-Style Baked Fish)
Ingredients
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 3 cups sweet onions, sliced
- 1 cup leeks, sliced cross-wise
- 4-6 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 14.5 ounce cans diced tomatoes, drained
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- 2 teaspoons dried Greek oregano
- 2 pounds wild cod or haddock fillets
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, finely chopped
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Preheat a wide saute pan over medium-high heat. Add in the olive oil.
- Add the onions and leeks and saute until soft, about five minutes.
- Add the garlic and saute until fragrant, about one minute.
- Add the tomatoes, salt, pepper, and Greek oregano and cook for an additional five minutes. Remove from heat.
- If using an oven-safe pan, tuck the fish in between and underneath the tomato and onion mixture. Alternately, place fish in a baking pan and top with the tomato and onion mixture.
- Bake in the oven for 40-50 minutes or until the fish flakes easily with a fork.
- Top with the chopped parsley. Serve with feta and crusty bread.
Notes
Nutrition
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Love these pics! Looks very appetizing!
Thanks, Olivia! <3
Hi Marissa! This looks like pure and simple comfort food! I personally like haddock, but cod is more available here. I really like Chilean sea bass which is not actually bass and has nothing to do with Chile! Kinda like pork butt has nothing to do with the south end of a cow! Have you noticed that there are some weirdly new cuts of meat that are really the "cheaper cuts" getting a new name so they can be priced higher? Stuff like that really p***** me off! Okay, enough ranting. 🙂
Hi Dorothy! One of my favorite things about this dish is the simplicity! It's pretty funny how so many folks have caught on to the "cheaper cuts" being tasty and so they feel the need to spike the price to make them seem so gourmet or luxurious. It's silly!
It's fall but here in LA, we're still getting bouts of heat waves. Yikes. I've never had Prasi Plaki before and yours looks too good to pass up. Yums.
I hear you! Boston has had a couple days of cooler weather, then heat waves, and repeat. September is such a confusing month weather-wise. Thanks, Ai Ping!
been in Greece this summer, dell in love with the food, so I must try this recipe too!
I'm jealous of your trip! I haven't been in years and miss it like whoa. Let me know how it comes out if you make it!
I am always looking for different ways to prepare fish. This looks so good!
Thanks, Peter! It's one of my favorite ways to eat fish. 😀
Love all the tomatoes that you'd in this fish recipe, it sounds so fresh and flavorful.
Thanks, Katalina!
This looks so good and sounds so simple too
Thanks, Paul! The simplicity is one of my favorite things about it. 🙂
Based on the pictures alone, this recipe looks delicious. My other half loves cod, and also any Greek recipe in general. What are some sides to cook with this?
Thanks, Thamica! I think this would pair well with roasted potatoes! Strangely enough, I don't remember what sides I might have had with this growing up, if any. My parents made it in the summer a lot, so we would eat light and just have the dish as is. With some bread. 😀
Marissa, very nice job on this. Great photos, very colorful and sounds like it would be very tasty. Love the combination of vegetables for the dish.
Thanks, Mark!
OMG! This looks so super tasty, even though I don't know how to pronounce the name. Actually, lately I've been thinking about adding fish back into my diet. Not sure yet though 🙂
Thanks, Howie! It's pronounced "PSAH-dee Plah-KEE" - I recommend letting your inner old, Greek lady out when you say it. 😀 If you do decide to bring fish back in your diet, I hope you make this and let me know how it came out!
This reminds me of a Portuguese baked cod dish my aunt often makes! Gonna have to try it!
I love Portuguese food! What does she put in it? I want some!
Are there different types of oregano?
Is Greek oregano just Greek because it was grown there?
Hi Sophie! Yes, there are different types. The Greek variant has a stronger flavor. Because of that, too much can actually be a bad thing, so I don't normally substitute it 1:1 when cooking other recipes that call for "regular" oregano. It's very flavorful and delicious when the right amount is added, though. 🙂 I grew up with Greek oregano being the norm, so I almost always cook with it. I plan to pick up some Mexican oregano very soon, though! You can read more about different oreganos in this post by The Kitchn (love that site).
I hope that helps! Thanks for swinging by. <3
I am cooking now. Smells wonderful.. added dill, parsley& white wine.. so excited to try.. I'm greek & one of my favorite dishes...thank you!
Loving the additions, Vaea! I hope you enjoyed it. <3
Fantastic served hot or cold. Great for parties. Loved it. Thank you.
Wow. I made this a few nights ago and it was so dang good! I’m not a huge fish person, but my husband, being a fisher and having grown up on this coast, is. This looked good so I thought I’d try it, and I’m glad I did!! Adding this to the very narrow list of keeper fish recipes I have collected over the years. The truth is that there’s only 2 on that list now 😂. I couldn’t find Greek oregano anywhere, sadly. Never tried it so I don’t know what I’m missing, but I just added a little extra regular oregano. I paired this with a nice hot crusty rosemary bread that I drizzled with EVOO, and steamed broccolini. PERFECT!
I am Greek, and my mother was a professional Greek cook and won a lot of notoriety and was in sauce magazine and won best Greek restaurant in the St. Louis riverfront times where customers vote. I love this dish and your recipe is quite good. Just a suggestion is instead of oregano try dill. We also put lemon juice, and sauté several different kinds of vegetables especially onions celery carrots tomato and potatoes that are probably quartered. I’ve even added mushrooms, zucchini, and fresh green beans. You can really put whatever you want and we also put a little bit of bullion. We did it with the wine and the garlic as you do. Mine is in the oven right now.
Followed the recipe with no changes and the outcome was fantastic.
We had it with baguette and a Chardonnay.
it was our first Greek dinner for the year.
Will check Marissa's other recipe.
JBF from Manhattan, NY
I love a good bread and wine pairing! I'm so glad your first Greek dinner of the year was tasty (and honored you chose my recipe). Happy New Year!