whole roasted red snapper with lemon and herbs
Roasting a whole fish is great for a dinner party or a date night in because it’s impressive and mostly hands-off. The fishmonger cleans and scales the fish, then you get to stuff it with aromatics like citrus and fresh herbs, which impart their delicate flavors as it roasts. While you have the oven on, you can throw in an easy side, like Roasted Potato Wedges with Montreal Steak Seasoning or Asparagus with Oozy Eggs. Oh, and please don’t forget to go for the cheek meat from the head of the fish—it’s sweet and really the very best part.
ingredients
1 (2½- to 3-pound) red snapper, cleaned and scaled, head and tail left intact
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 lemon, thinly sliced into rounds, seeds removed
6 fresh flat-leaf parsley sprigs, plus chopped fresh parsley for serving
3 bay leaves
½ teaspoon dried oregano
2 small red onions, cut into ½-inch wedges, leaving some of the stem end intact
¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons dry white wine
⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil
steps
Heat the oven to 450ºF, with a rack in the middle.
Rinse the fish and pat dry. Cut 3 crosswise slashes down to the bone on each side of the fish. Season the cavity and skin generously with salt and pepper. Stuff the slashes on the top side of the fish with a few lemon slices, then stuff the cavity with the parsley sprigs, bay leaves, oregano, and remaining lemon slices.
In a roasting pan that’s large enough to accommodate the fish, toss the onion wedges with ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper, then drizzle with the wine and about half of the oil. Arrange the onion wedges in a single layer to form a bed for the fish. Place the fish on top and drizzle with the remaining oil.
Roast until the fish is cooked through, 25 to 30 minutes. To check for doneness, use the tip of a paring knife to pull back a bit of the meat in the thickest part of the fish. If the meat is opaque down to the bone, you’re good to go.
Transfer the fish and onions to a serving platter. Drizzle with the pan juices and top with the chopped parsley.
To serve, run the tip of a paring knife down the backbone of the fish, then do the same along the collarbone (right behind the head) and at the tail end of the fish. Cut the top fillet in half without cutting through the bone, slip a small metal spatula under it, and gently push, lift, and transfer each one to a serving plate. Starting at the tail end, lift off the backbone. Remove any visible bones from the bottom fillet, halve, and transfer each piece to the serving plate. Serve with the onions, drizzled with any remaining pan juices.
✨ Tip: Any whole fish can be roasted in this manner. If snapper isn’t available, try sea bass, blackfish, sea bream, branzino, or Arctic char. If the fish are smaller than what is called for in this recipe, roast two or more to feed the same amount of eaters. Remember to adjust the cooking time, as smaller fish will cook faster.
