Mediterranean-Style Whole Roasted Red Snapper
Red snapper takes on some bold Mediterranean flavors – garlic, fresh herbs, and a trio of warm spices – then roasted to tender perfection with bright bell peppers, onions, and tomatoes. Enjoy straight out of the oven for best flavor and texture, and serve with lemon rice, Greek potatoes, three bean salad, or Fattoush salad.
Servings: 4 people
Ingredients
- 2 large whole snapper fish, cleaned and gutted
- 10 garlic cloves, minced, and combined with a pinch of salt
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 2 tsp ground coriander
- salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp ground sumac
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh dill
- 3 bell peppers, different colors, sliced in rounds
- 1 large tomato, sliced into rounds
- 1 medium red onion, sliced into rounds
- Greek extra virgin olive oil, I used Private Reserve Greek EVOO
- 2 lemons
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degree F.
- Pat the snapper fish dry. With a large knife, make two slits on each side of the fish. Fill the slits and coat the gut cavity of each fish with the minced garlic.
- To make the spice mix, combine the cumin, coriander, salt, pepper and sumac in a small bowl. Use 3/4 of the spice mix to season the snapper on both sides; pat the spices into the fish pushing into the slits you made earlier. Keep the remainder 1/4 of the spice mix aside for now.
- Stuff each gut cavity with the chopped dill, and as much of the sliced peppers, tomatoes and onions as possible.
- Place the stuffed fish in a lightly oiled baking sheet. Add the remaining sliced vegetables to form a frame around the fish. Sprinkle the vegetables with a pinch of salt and the remaining 1/4 of the spice mix.
- Drizzle everything generously with olive oil.
- Place the baking sheet on the lower rack of your 425 degrees F heated oven. Roast for 25 minutes until the fish flakes.Transfer the fish to a serving platter and squeeze juice of one lemon all over it. Use the slits you made earlier to cut through and portion the fish. Serve it with wedges of the remaining lemon.
- Enjoy with a side of rice and Fattoush salad, if you like
Video
Notes
- To make things easy, ask your fishmonger to clean the fish and butterfly it so it's ready for use. You can choose to have the head removed, if you prefer. But I recommend leaving the head on, as it helps the fish retain moisture and yields better flavor.
- Make ahead tip: Whole red snapper is best prepared and roasted right when you are ready to eat it. But to save a bit of time, you can slice the vegetables a night ahead and store them in separate airtight containers in the fridge.
- What to serve along: With the veggies already provided in this sheet pan fish dinner, you hardly need to add any sides. But lemon rice or Greek potatoes are a couple of good options. It never hurts to add a dip like tzatziki or baba ganoush. And for me personally, a big salad is a must! Try three bean salad, balela, Fattoush, or orange beet salad.
- Leftovers and storage: This snapper dinner is best enjoyed immediately. If you have leftovers, store in the fridge for 2 to 3 days. Enjoy at room temperature, but if you must, you can reheat in a 350 degrees F heated oven just until warmed through. I am not a big fan of reheating fish because it tends to get too dry but adding a little water to your pan and covering the fish would help.
- Visit the Mediterranean Dish Shop for quality extra virgin olive oilsand all-natural or organic spices. Create your own 6-pack or 3-pack of your favorites, like the cumin, coriander, and sumac used in this recipe!
Nutrition
Calories: 296.2kcal | Carbohydrates: 16.4g | Protein: 95g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 1.4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2.3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1.5g | Cholesterol: 166.5mg | Sodium: 300.9mg | Potassium: 2292.6mg | Fiber: 4.5g | Sugar: 5.8g | Vitamin A: 2964.6IU | Vitamin C: 121mg | Calcium: 215.8mg | Iron: 2.9mg
QR code
Scan this QR code with your phone's camera to view this recipe on your mobile device.
