Baked Whole Fish Food

BAKED WHOLE FISH

Steps:

• Soak the fish in cold, salted water for 15-30 minutes; drain and dry slightly.
• Preheat oven to 400.
• Season cavity with lemon slices, celery, onion, salt, and pepper and 2 TBS lemon juice.
• Close the fish and place bacon strips on top or around fish.
• Sprinkle with salt, pepper, onion salt and remainder of lemon juice.
• Cover with pats of butter and bake until flesh is white and flakes apart with fork (about 30 minutes for a 2 1/2 pound fish or 40-45 minutes for a 3 pounder).
• the fish may be broiled at the end to brown the bacon.
• Cut into 1 1/2 inch wide sections and serve with lemon wedges.
• Serves 2-4, depending on size of fish.
• Note: Other vegetables such as potatoes and tomatoes may be cooked with the fish if desired.

WHOLE BAKED FISH CUBAN-STYLE

Steps:

• Rinse the fish well under cold running water and pat dry on both sides as well as inside the cavity. Make several slits about 1/3-inch deep on both sides of the fish. Place the fish in a non-reactive shallow dish or platter and pour the lime juice over the fish. Set aside while you continue with the preparations.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Rub the bottom of a shallow glass or ceramic dish large enough to hold the fish with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Saute 1/2 of the onion slices and 1/2 of the pepper slices in 2 tablespoons olive oil and then place along the bottom of the baking dish. Tear 2 of the bay leaves into small pieces and sprinkle over the vegetables. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons more of the remaining Spanish olive oil and season with salt, black pepper, to taste, and crushed red pepper flakes. Place the fish on top of the sliced vegetables.
• Using a mortar and pestle, combine the garlic, kosher salt and oregano and mash to form a paste. Spread the garlic paste inside the cavity of the fish and into the slits on top. Place the remaining bay leaf inside the cavity of the fish. In the same small bowl that you used to make the garlic paste, combine the tomato puree and vinegar and stir to combine. Pour this tomato mixture all over the fish. Top with the remaining onion and pepper slices and drizzle the remaining olive oil and the wine over the top. Season again with salt and black pepper, cover the dish loosely with aluminum foil, and bake until the fish flakes easily when pierced with a fork, 45 to 50 minutes. Garnish with the parsley and serve hot or warm, with the pan juices drizzled over all.

WHOLE ROASTED FISH WITH HERBS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Make 3 diagonal slices about 1/2-inch deep on each side of the fish. Salt and olive oil the fish generously.
• Season the inside of the fish with salt and olive oil. Place 4 lemon slices, the bay leaves, a bundle of the mixed herbs and 2 of the garlic cloves inside the body cavity.
• Line a sheet tray with aluminum foil and arrange the remaining assorted herbs, lemon slices and garlic in the center of the tray and lay the fish on top.
• Fold the aluminum foil up around the sides of the fish to create a sort of baking dish. Add the white wine and place in the preheated oven and roast until the fish is just cooked through, about 30 to 35 minutes.
• Remove from oven, present and collect your kudos then fillet to serve.

ROAST WHOLE FISH WITH SALSA ROMESCO

Steps:

• Heat the grill to high. Put the peppers, skin-side up, onto a baking tray and grill for about 20 mins until the skins blacken all over. Put them into a food bag, seal, then leave for 10 mins. Once cool, peel away the skins. Tear the flesh into strips. Mix with the tomatoes, garlic and chilli in a bowl. Roughly chop most of the parsley leaves and add to the bowl with the hazelnuts, vinegar and oil, then stir well. This salad 'matures' well, and tastes even better if you can make it a few hours ahead.
• When ready to cook, heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Rinse and dry the fish, score the flesh on each side, then put the parsley stalks and a few lemon slices into the cavities. Put a few more lemon slices in an oiled baking dish and lay the fish on top. Season the fish well, drizzle with more olive oil, scatter with remaining parsley, then roast for 20 mins, until the flesh flakes easily.
• Serve the fish from the dish, set the bowl of salad and the potatoes alongside, then dig in.

BAKED WHOLE FISH WITH TAHINI SAUCE AND TEMPURA VEGETABLES

Steps:

• I use 2 pans for the cooking 1 for each fish, I put the same amount of ingredients listed above per pan. By that I mean 1/3 cup lime per pan 1/2 cup wine per pan etc -- Or double up and eye ball dividing mixture evenly among pans.
• Combine lime juice, wine, water, lemongrass, coriander and parsley in a bowl. Place fish in baking dish and pour mixture over, repeating for second pan.
• Cover with foil and bake at 190c for 25-30 Min's until fish are tender and cooked through.
• Tahini Sauce.
• Blend or Process Tahini ingredients until just combined about a minute.
• Transfer to a pan and heat until sauce thickens and is heated through.
• To Serve pull skin back from one side of fish and using a fork pull fish meat off from top to bottom. You will find it flakes off real easy and you shouldn't end up with many bones in fish meat. Repeat to the other side, place fish meat neatly on plate and pour tahini sauce over. Serve with tempura vegetables with dipping sauce recipe below.
• Vegetables.
• You can use just about any mix of vegetables, above recipe is just a suggestion. This is also the same way to make seafood tempura you can also make this as a starter with a mixture of seafood and vegetables.
• Cut seaweed into 5cm squares, halve the sheet and cut into 2cm-wide strips. Brush strips with water and wrap tightly around noodles in the middle, reserve noodle bunches.
• Mix all the ingredients for the batter together, this should not be a smooth batter, but should have a few lumps of flour in it. It is best made just before beginning to deep fry. Always make with iced or chilled water and never leave batter to sit for to long before using.
• Heat oil to moderately hot 170c in wok or deep pan. Dust chopped vegetables, except seaweed squares, lightly in flour. Dip seaweed squares and other ingredients into batter, drain excess batter, deep fry ingredients, in batches until golden. Drain on absorbent paper. Only fry small amounts at a time to allow for oil to come back to correct temperature before next batch is added.
• Finally deep fry noodle bunches and serve as a garnish.
• Combine all sauce ingredients stir to mix.
• Serve tempura immediately with individual bowls of dipping sauce.
• Recipe for Dashi.
• If you can't get instant dashi here is a recipe for primary dashi. The recipe makes quite a lot but if you make Japanese often it will keep in the fridge for a few days and last in the freezer for a month but it will lose some of it's delicate flavour and aroma.
• 15g dried kelp (konbu).
• 1 litre cold water.
• 15g large smoked dried bonito flakes (katsuobushi).
• Wipe kelp with a damp cloth, cut into 3-4 large pieces. Place kelp in a large saucepan with water, cook uncovered, about 10 Min's or until just about to come to a boil.
• Remove kelp, bring liquid to boil and add another 1/4 cup cold water along with bonito flakes, return just to a boil, remove from heat immediately.
• Strain dashi through a muslin-lined sieve into another pan.

WHOLE BAKED FISH WITH CILANTRO

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Drizzle a large oven-safe pan with oil.
• Rinse trout and pat dry with a paper towel. Place on a flat work surface. Cut trout from one side through the middle horizontally to within one-half inch of the other side. Open the two sides and spread them out like an open book; lay onto the prepared pan.
• Place tomatoes, onion, lemon juice, cilantro, garlic, coriander, cumin, salt, pepper, and cinnamon in a food processor. Pulse until chopped fine but not pureed. Pour 1/2 the mixture on top of 1/2 of the trout; fold the other side of trout on top. Spoon the remaining 1/2 of the mixture on and around the sealed trout. Add water to the pan; arrange potatoes around the trout. Cover pan with aluminum foil.
• Bake in the preheated oven until trout flakes easily with a fork, about 45 minutes.

BAKED WHOLE FISH WITH DATES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325°F. Season the fish with salt and pepper inside and out. Roughly chop the dates and put them in the fish's cavity along with half the butter. Use some of the remaining butter to grease the bottom of a roasting pan and dot the top of the fish with the rest of it. Toss the onion with the wine, cinnamon, ginger, and a little more salt and pepper and place in the bottom of the roasting pan; put the fish on top of this mixture. Seal the top with aluminum foil.
• Bake the fish for about 30 minutes, undisturbed. Uncover, raise the oven heat to 450°F, and continue to roast, basting once or twice with the pan juices, until the fish begins to brown on top, about 15 minutes more. Serve the fish immediately with the dates, onions, and pan juices.
• Make a paste by combining 1 cup blanched almonds, 1 tablespoon sugar, and 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon in a food processor with 2 tablespoons chilled butter; process, scraping down the sides of the processor as necessary, until smooth. You can mix this paste with the chopped dates or use it alone.

WHOLE FISH BAKED IN SALT

Steps:

• 1. Preheat the oven to 400°F.
• 2. Rinse the fish with cold water, pat it dry and refrigerate until just before cooking.
• 3. Pour a fine layer of salt in the bottom of an oven-proof baking dish that is just slightly larger than the fish. Lay two bay leaves on the salt, then place the fish on the bay leaves. Place the peppercorns inside the belly cavity of the fish, then top the fish with the remaining 2 bay leaves. Pour the remaining salt over the fish to cover it, leaving the tail fin exposed if necessary.
• 3. Place the fish on the middle rack in the center of the oven and bake for 25 minutes. You cannot test the fish for doneness - you simply have to trust the timing. Remove the fish from the oven and gently crack off the layer of salt, removing as much of it as you can. Most of the skin will come off the fish as well - what doesn't come off when you remove the salt you need to remove gently, using a sharp knife.
• 4. Remove the fillets divide the fish among four slightly warmed dinner plates. Drizzle with olive oil and garnish with the chervil, if desired.