Looking for something to cook that isn't too laborious? Try this dish that is simple to whip up and refreshingly zesty.
I use a whole angkoli (goldband snapper) for this recipe of baked fish with chimichurri, a piquant sauce or marinade traditionally used in Argentinian cooking. You can also use sea bass or coral trout.
Butterfly the fish so it cooks quicker. If you are buying it from a fishmonger, you can ask for the fish to be butterflied with the backbone removed.
Usually red or white wine vinegar is used to make chimichurri, but I opted to use lemon juice for a brighter taste. I find it more practical too as this means I do not have to buy an entire bottle of red wine vinegar.
Use less lemon juice if you prefer it to be less tangy.
If you are not used to the "raw" taste of chimichurri, you can pop the fish back in the oven for two minutes after you pour on the remaining sauce at the end of the recipe.
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BAKED FISH WITH CHIMICHURRI
INGREDIENTS
1 whole snapper (800g), cleaned
1 tsp salt
40g garlic cloves
30g shallots
40g flat leaf parsley, chopped
30g fresh coriander, chopped
1/2 tsp dried oregano
2 tsp dried chilli flakes
Juice of one lemon
50ml extra virgin olive oil
1 lemon, sliced into 1.5cm-thick slices
METHOD
1. Clean and butterfly the fish.
2. Take 1/2 tsp of salt and rub it all over the fish. Set the fish aside while you prepare the sauce.
3. Place the garlic cloves and shallots in a blender. Pulse until the ingredients become a paste.
4. Add the flat leaf parsley, fresh coriander, dried oregano, chilli flakes and lemon juice. Pulse until parsley and coriander are finely chopped.
5. With the blender running at slow speed, add the extra virgin olive oil gradually.
6. Add the salt and pulse for five seconds. Remove the sauce from the blender.
7. Preheat the oven to 200 deg C.
8. Line a tray with baking paper.
9. Place the fish on the lined tray. Take 1 Tbs of sauce and coat the fish.
10. Stuff the fish with the lemon slices.
11. Add 2 Tbs of sauce on top of the fish.
12. Place the fish in the oven on the middle rack to bake at 180 deg C for 25 minutes.
13. Drizzle on the remaining sauce before serving.
Serves three to four
