Psari Plaki — Greek Baked Cod with Tomato, Onion, and Olive Oil

Greek Fast With Fish Published June 13, 2026

Psari plaki is the everyday baked fish of Greek home kitchens — thick fillets of cod nestled into a bed of slow-cooked onions, tomatoes, and garlic, baked until the fish is just flaking and the sauce has reduced to something sweet and jammy. There is no cheese, no cream, nothing to hide behind. The olive oil, the ripe tomato, and the fish do all the work, and on a Palm Sunday table it feels like a small feast.

This is a fish-day dish by design — on Annunciation, Palm Sunday, and the other days when fish is blessed. If you want to keep it on an ordinary oil day instead of a fish day, swap the cod for a tin of chickpeas added in the last ten minutes; the tomato-and-onion base is just as happy without the fish.

FASTING LEVEL: Fast With Fish
SERVINGS: 4
TIME: 50 minutes

INGREDIENTS

- 4 cod fillets (about 600g total), skinless
- 1/3 cup (80ml) olive oil
- 2 large onions, thinly sliced
- 4 cloves garlic, sliced
- 1 can (400g) chopped tomatoes
- 2 fresh tomatoes, sliced
- 1/2 cup (75g) Kalamata olives, pitted
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
- Juice of 1 lemon
- Salt and black pepper, to taste
- Crusty bread, to serve

METHOD

1. Preheat the oven to 190C (375F). Pat the cod dry, season with salt, pepper, and half the lemon juice, and set aside while you build the sauce.

2. Heat the olive oil in a wide oven-safe pan over medium heat. Add the onions and a pinch of salt and cook gently for 12-15 minutes until soft, golden, and sweet — don't rush this.

3. Stir in the garlic and tomato paste and cook for 1 minute until fragrant. Add the canned tomatoes, oregano, and half the parsley. Simmer for 10 minutes until thickened.

4. Nestle the cod fillets into the sauce. Scatter over the sliced fresh tomatoes and the olives, and drizzle with a little more olive oil.

5. Bake uncovered for 20-25 minutes, until the fish flakes easily and the sauce is bubbling at the edges.

6. Finish with the remaining lemon juice and parsley. Serve hot with crusty bread to mop up the sauce.

NOTES

- Any firm white fish works — hake, haddock, halibut, or sea bass. Adjust the bake time for thickness.
- For an oil day without fish, replace the cod with 1 can of drained chickpeas (stir in during step 4 and bake 15 minutes).
- A pinch of cinnamon or a bay leaf in the sauce is traditional in some regions and adds warmth.
- Leftover sauce is excellent tossed through pasta the next day.