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Winter around the southern coastal areas of NSW provide many fishermen the chance to dine and feast on fat Snapper intent on securing a feed themselves. The pan sized models provide good sport on light gear while the larger beasts can feed upteen amounts of people (From children to adults). A few years ago I came up with a simple recipe to showcase a baked fish, while it works well on fish like Bream, it really proves its worth infusing its flavours with whole Snapper.
Baked Snapper with Lemon and cracked Pepper :
1 Snapper ( 1kg upwards, Fresh is best )
1 lemon ( Thinly sliced, skin on )
1 Onion ( Sliced finely )
3 Garlic cloves ( Sliced finely )
2 Tomatoes ( Diced or sliced )
1 Flat leaf parsley ( 6 tbsp, roughly chopped )
1 Basil ( 6 tbsp, roughly chopped )
1 Sage ( 3 tbsp, roughly chopped )
1 Oregano ( 3 tbsp, roughly chopped )
Baked Snapper with Lemon and cracked Pepper :
1 Snapper ( 1kg upwards, Fresh is best )
1 lemon ( Thinly sliced, skin on )
1 Onion ( Sliced finely )
3 Garlic cloves ( Sliced finely )
2 Tomatoes ( Diced or sliced )
1 Flat leaf parsley ( 6 tbsp, roughly chopped )
1 Basil ( 6 tbsp, roughly chopped )
1 Sage ( 3 tbsp, roughly chopped )
1 Oregano ( 3 tbsp, roughly chopped )
- Preheat oven to 190 degrees, and prepare baking tray ( Deep dish ) by placing Snapper into tray and oiling with a good quality virgin olive oil. Score snapper ( Cut 4 slices down the body from head to tail, lightly into the skin of the fish ), rub oil into the cuts and crack generous amounts of pepper into and all over the body, follow this with a few pinches of sea salt and place tray to the side.
- Place all Stuffing / Filling ingredients into a bowl, mix with a tbsp of oil and again crack some pepper and mix. Stuff fish heavily with filling and use a skewer to stitch the Snapper closed ( Alternatively a tooth pick, or leave open! ), take sliced lemon and place on top of the fish gently inserting each slice into the score, aligning neatly along the body.
- Bake fish until cooked ( No more than 1/2 hr, checking along the way ) and serve with some baked potatoes with lashings of Chives & Sour cream, plate up and enjoy.
KFA Kitchen tips :
- Dont over bake, check only once and turn if desired.
- Substitutes well with Bream, Black Bream and other white fleshed species.
- Cover with foil if you wish, beware any juices will not evaporate and add to the finished product.
- Could be barbequed or even smoked using webber techniques.
