Mediterranean Inspired Roasted Whole Fish
Preheat oven to 350, line a rimmed cookie sheet with parchment paper, season the fish, make the paste, put the paste into the cavity and a few slits cut into the top of the fish. Add lemon slices and fresh herbs as desired. Cook until just done, about 12 - 18 minutes depending on oven temp and size of the fish. Let it rest.
Ingredients
- 1 pound whole medium sized fish cleaned. (Pick something that will fit on a rimmed cookie sheet. If the fish are small, buy two - the fish pictured was about one pound and served 2. I could have fit 2 of them on a cookie sheet. Double the filling if you buy 2 fish)
- 1 T Olive oil for rubbing on the fish skin
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 - 2 Whole lemons save one for lemon /wedges for garnish and serving
- 1/2 tsp capers
- 4 T black olives
- 2 T medium sun-dried tomatoes minced
- 1 T medium sun-dried tomato chopped for garnish
- 5 - 6 T greek pepper rings minced
- 1 T juice and zest of 1 lemon
- 2 - 3 T fresh herbs of choice (I used 1 tsp minced fresh oregano 1 tsp minced fresh chives, 2 tsp minced fresh basil, 2 tsp minced fresh lemon-thyme)
- More fresh herbs for garnish and stuffing the fish cavity
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- If the fish has rough scales instead of soft skin, run the sharp edge of a knife backward along the scales to remove them.
- Rinse the fish and pat it dry.
- Rub a thin layer of olive oil on the fish.
- Liberally sprinkle the cavity and both sides of the fish with salt and pepper.
- Put the garlic, capers, black olives, minced sun-dried tomatoes, Greek pepper rings, lemon juice and lemon zest in a mortar and pestle bowl and mash into a paste. Or, finely mince it all and combine to form a paste.
- Cut a few slits in the fish and stuff with the paste.
- Put the rest of the paste in the center of the fish.
- Stuff lemon slices and a few fresh herbs in the fish.
- Top the fish with a few lemon slices and chopped sun-dried tomatoes.
- Cook at 350 for 12 - 18 minutes.
- Cover with foil or an upside down plate and let it rest at least 5 minutes.
Notes
Fresh fish is delicate. The window between undercooked and overcooked is narrow. Check the thickest part of the fish at the 10-minute mark and proceed in 3 - 5-minute increments. You want the fish to separate easily into segments when you poke it with a fork. I served this with oven roasted asparagus/red onions and fresh bread. Since the oven was already on, I threw the veggies in ahead of the fish. Put parchment paper on a cookie sheet, put the veggies on, douse with olive oil (a little or a lot), season with kosher salt and pepper. Roast at 350 about 30 minutes.