lord_seagrave Posted June 11, 2017 Report Share Posted June 11, 2017 It's always a little bit of a guessing game with whole fish, but, when it is perfectly not-quite-cooked straight out of the oven, and gently finishes itself off on the plate (so to speak), it is a joyful thing. I'm no chef, nor am I a scientist, but, because the cooking time is so short, any stuffing (and the temperature of the stuffing) can make a big difference, so it's worth warming the ingredients up before stuffing your fish, especially if it's an 'edible' stuffing like this one here. 2 fresh rainbow trout (gutted and cleaned) Extra virgin olive oil 1/2 fennel bulb, very very finely sliced across the width 1 heaped tablespoon of finely chopped parsley 2 heaped teaspoons of capers and a level teaspoon of the brine Six largish basil leaves Black pepper Sea salt Preheat the oven and a non-stick roasting tin to 220 Put the fennel and parsley and a good glug of olive oil into a smal saucepan and warm it slowly over a medium heat, stirring until the fennel has softened. A good grind of black pepper is very complimentary at this stage. Once the fennel is soft (but you don't want it to colour at this stage), take the pan off the heat and add the capers, brine and basil leaves. Give it a good stir so that everything is fragrant and coated and the leaves have wilted. Remove the roasting tin from the oven and scatter in some sea salt. Fill the fish cavities with the fennel mixture and lay them in the tin (on the scattering of salt). Drizzle any remaining fennel mixture over the fish and then stick them in the oven for a bare 20 minutes. Keep an eye on them. You want the skin crisp, but the flesh still with a slight quiver. I reckon mine took 18 minutes. Then it's straight onto a plate, perhaps with a bit more basil, and tuck in as soon as it's cool enough. Delicious with some little new potatoes and some wilted turnip thinnings (that's how we had them). LS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smiiithy Posted June 19, 2017 Report Share Posted June 19, 2017 Sounds fabulous, I will definitely try. Thank you. Wheb cooking whole I like to wrap in newspaper and dampen before roasting or barbecuing, gives a fabulous flavour and the skin comes right off if it doesn't appeal to you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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