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Whole Fish Cooked with Lemon,Onion & Herbs

19th Sep 2016

You will need

A whole fish (1.5–2.0 kg, pink or king snapper is ideal)
3 tomatoes, sliced
3 onions, sliced
3 lemons, sliced
Fresh herbs (1 sprig each of parsley, rosemary and basil)
Salt & pepper
Extra virgin olive oil
Foil 

For this dish you will need a hooded BBQ and a fisharoo or fish cage.

You will need to allow plenty of time to prepare and cook the fish. It can be prepared in advance, then covered in foil and kept in the fridge.

The fish should be scaled and gutted and have the head and tail still on. If you prefer the head and tail off you can ask the fishmonger to remove them, but leaving them on adds to the presentation and flavour of the dish.

Wash the fish thoroughly and pat it dry with a tea towel or some paper towels.With the fish laying on its side on a flat surface, make several diagonal cuts into the flesh through to the bone. The cuts should be about 2 inches apart. Keeping the fish on the same side, turn it around (so the head is now facing the other way) and cut diagonally across the first cuts. Turn the fish over and make similar cuts
on the other side. Be careful of the fins as they can be very sharp!

There are three good reasons for cutting diagonally into the flesh before cooking:

1. You can pull the flesh off in chunks.

2. It allows the flavours from the added ingredients to get right into the fish, all the way down to the bone.

< 3. It takes less time to cook.

Feeds 4 people 20 mins to prepare 1 hour to cook. Hood required

Next rub some olive oil into the flesh and then sprinkle on some salt and pepper. Do this on both sides. Open up the fish rack and place a double layer of foil on the bottom, and then grease the foil with a little oil (spray or brush on) to prevent sticking.

Place half of the lemon slices onto the foil, then overlap with half of the onion and tomato slices. Place the herb sprigs on top.

Lay the fish over the herbs and rub some oil inside the fish cavity, then insert a few more slices of the lemon, onion and tomato into the fish cavity.

Lay the remainder of the slices on the top of the fish. Add a final, generous drizzle of olive oil, then close the rack. Light all the burners and with the hood down, watch the temperature gauge until it reaches about 200°C.

Turn the burners under the hotplate down to low and leave only one burner on under the grill, on high. (Use the burner that's furthest away from the hotplate. If your barbeque has more than four burners, you may need to leave the two far right burners under the grill on.)

Place the fish cage onto the hotplate and close the hood. Watch the temperature – if it drops below 200°C turn on another burner under the grill. It's important to keep an eye on the temperature so that you don't burn the
fish!

The fish will take between 40 minutes to just over an hour to cook, depending on the thickness, weight, and type of fish and the heat of your barbeque. After 30 minutes check to see how it's going. You will know when it's almost ready as the juices will turn milky and become sticky.

When it's at this stage, use a knife to lift the flesh and see if it separates easily. If it doesn't, the fish needs to cook for longer. Bear in mind that the top of the fish will cook more quickly than the bottom, so check the flesh underneath if you can. The lemon, tomato and onion will keep the fish moist so don't worry if you do have to cook it for a bit longer.

Tip: If you think that the top of the fish is ready but when you take it out the bottom is not quite done, remove as much flesh from the top as possible and serve it up, then place the rack back onto the hotplate. That way the top doesn't get overcooked and your guests aren't kept waiting! Check it again after about 15 minutes. It may take a while to get it completely right but it's well worth it in theend, as the fish will be moist and taste terrific!

©Ross Yarranton

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