Baked Whole Snapper Basque Style

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Baked Whole Snapper Basque Style

Ingredients:

4 lb. Whole red snapper scaled, gutted Salt to taste Freshly-ground black pepper to taste Juice of 2 limes; 1/4 cup Spanish olive oil; 4 x Garlic cloves finely chopped; 3 slc Lemon, 1/4" thick.

Sofrito: 1/4 cup Spanish olive oil; 2 sm. Onions finely chopped; 2 x Green bell peppers stemmed, seeded, and finely chopped; 6 x Canned plum tomatoes drained, diced; 1/2 cup Pimento-stuffed green olives rinsed, drained, and chopped; 1/2 tsp. Salt 1/4 tsp. Dried oregano crumbled; 1/2 cup Dry white wine or dry sherry; 2 dsh Tabasco; 2 tbl Spanish olive oil; 4 lrg Red potatoes peeled, and sliced 1/4" thick Salt to taste Freshly-ground black pepper to taste; 1 sm. bunch Flat-leaf parsley, leaves only chopped.

Rinse the fish in cold water and pat it dry inside and out with paper towels. Place it on a shallow glass or ceramic platter. Sprinkle the fish inside and out with salt, pepper, and lime juice. Whisk the olive oil and garlic together and pour over the fish, rubbing it into the skin on both sides. With a very sharp knife, make 3 incisions right down to the bone and insert a lemon slice in each one. Cover with plastic wrap and marinate in the refrigerator for several hours.

To make the sofrito, heat the olive oil over low heat in a large heavy skillet. Add the onions and bell peppers and cook, stirring occasionally, for 6 to 8 minutes or until translucent. Add the tomatoes, olives, salt, oregano, and wine and cook for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. When the sauce is thickened, stir in the Tabasco and remove from the heat.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and set a rack in the upper middle position.

Rub a large roasting pan with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and lay the sliced potatoes in 4 overlapping lines to make a square. Season them generously. Wrap the tail of the snapper in foil and lay the fish on top of the potatoes. Drizzle the remaining tablespoon olive oil over the top. Bake until the fish is done through and flaky, about 45 minutes. Reheat the sofrito over low heat for the last 8 to 10 minutes of the cooking time.

Slide the fish onto a large oval platter and arrange the potatoes at the top and bottom of the platter. Spoon the tomato sauce along the sides and remove the foil from the tail. Sprinkle the parsley over all and serve.

This recipe yields 6 servings.

Published in http://fooddownunder.com/cgi-bin/recipe.cgi?r=16902

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