Baked tench is a second course fish dish that can be considered the flagship of the lake cuisine of Franciacorta: the recipe, in fact, is originally from Clusane, a hamlet of the Municipality of Iseo. Tench, a freshwater fish with very tasty meat, is enhanced with a stuffing of cheese, bread, spices and parsley, and served with steaming polenta, an essential element of Brescia’s cuisine.
A “party dish” that dates back to the 1800s and that today enjoys the most coveted recognition, the De.Co. brand, the municipal denomination of origin that protects the privileged relationship of a dish and its ingredients with the municipality to which it belongs.
Ingredients (servings for 4 people):
4 300 g tench
300 gr. butter
300 gr. of grana padano cheese
100 gr. breadcrumbs
mixed spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, pepper)
salt, olive oil, parsley to taste
A few bay leaves
Cut along the back of the tench, remove the bone and wash in running water. Prepare the stuffing with the cheese, bread, spices, salt and parsley. Stuff the tench with the dry stuffing. Place them in a terracotta baking dish pregreased with a little oil and bay leaves. Cover with part of the dry stuffing and pieces of butter. Bake at a moderate heat (160°) for about two hours.
Serve with steaming polenta.
responsibly