Whole roast bream with garlic and lemon
Roasting bream whole on the bone keeps the flesh moist and gives you more flavour than a fillet, and it is one of the easiest whole fish to handle. Ask the counter for a fish of about 500 to 600g and have it scaled, gutted and scored, so the skin crisps and the heat reaches the flesh evenly. Garlic and lemon in the cavity and over the skin do the rest.
Ingredients
- 1 whole sea bream, about 500 to 600g, scaled and gutted (ask the counter to scale, gut and score it, free)
- 4 cloves garlic, 2 sliced and 2 whole
- 1 lemon, half sliced, half for juice
- a few sprigs of thyme, rosemary or parsley
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 300g new potatoes, halved and parboiled
- sea salt and black pepper
Method
- Heat the oven to 200C fan 180C, gas
- Toss the parboiled potatoes and whole garlic cloves with 1 tbsp oil and a pinch of salt, and spread them across a roasting tray.
- Pat the fish dry and score the skin three or four times on each side, cutting down to the bone. This helps it cook evenly and lets the seasoning in.
- Season the cavity and fill it with lemon slices, sliced garlic and herbs. Rub the skin with the rest of the oil, salt and pepper, and lay the fish on the potatoes.
- Roast for 20 to 25 minutes until the skin is crisp and the flesh at the thickest point behind the head is just opaque and pulls cleanly from the bone.
- Squeeze over lemon, rest for 2 minutes and serve from the tray.
To serve: The tray of potatoes, plus roast tomatoes or a green salad and samphire when it is in season. To drink, a dry white like Assyrtiko or Albariño. Sea bass and small snapper roast the same way, adjusting the time by size.
Shop this recipe: sea bream and sea bass. Cut to order at the counter, filleting free.
Or cook it in a parcel instead: sea bream en papillote.
