Simple roasted whole fish with herbs and garlic
Who says that cooking a decent meal must take ages?
Many Mediterranean recipes are of very easy preparation and with a few quality ingredients you can make wonders in the kitchen. So, quality not quantity is the key.
Fish is one of the healthiest and lightest foods very popular in the Mediterranean cuisine. You can buy fish fillets for convenience but you can also cook a whole fish and this is extremely simple too. Some people are intimidated at the idea of cooking a whole fish as they are not familiar with preparing it, but most fish you buy these days has already been scaled and gutted so the preparation will be minimum.
If the fish is fresh (and this is very important) you won't need much to make it tasty: a few fresh herbs, garlic cloves and olive oil will bring out its flavour beautifully.
I cooked "orata" or seabream which I bought at my local fishmonger but snapper or seabass or any other whole fish that's available where you live will work well.
This recipe serves 4 people but you will need to judge the quantity yourself: if the fish is large you might need 2 and not 4.
- Prep Time : 15 minutes
- Cook Time : 30 minutes
- Yield : 4
Ingredients
- whole fish cleaned and scaled - 4 small or two medium (about 3 kg in weight)
- fresh rosemary - 2 sprigs
- thyme - 2 sprigs
- sage leaves - small handful
- garlic cloves
- olive oil
- sea salt
- lemon - 2
Instructions
Fresh fish should look glossy and the eyes should be plump and clear. When pressing it its flesh should spring back easily. Fresh fish also does not smell fishy and should have a pleasant smell of the sea.
Wash your herbs and chop them. Peel the garlic cloves and slice them in half.
Put the fish on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Make 3 cuts crosswise down to the bone on each side of the fish. Rub it with olive oil and sprinkle it with a little sea salt. Inside each cut stuff it with the herbs and the garlic cloves.
Stuff the cavity of the fish with more herbs and slices of lemon.
Roast it for about 25 to 30 minutes until the flesh is opaque.
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looks really delicious ! I love roast fish . Bacii
Fresh and delicious! I used to have a steamed fish with ginger and spring onion daily..my brother loves to go fishing on weekends, so we have fish on the table every day..miss those days..
Fresh fish, simply dressed and oven-roasted, you cannot get any better than that.
You are a master of fish cookery Alida. This is so simple, but so perfect x
What temperature should I have the oven at ?
Hello Hammy, I usually set the oven at 180C or 350F for a conventional fan oven.