Whole roast bream with fennel.

A whole bream roasts in twenty minutes at 200C on a bed of fennel. No flipping and no basting.

What do you ask the fishmonger for?

Ask for a medium bream, gutted and scaled, and have the skin scored three times each side, even cuts, down to the bone.

How do you roast a whole bream?

Stuff the cavity with fennel fronds, thyme and lemon slices. Rub the fish with oil and salt the skin generously. Roast at 200C for twenty minutes. Do not flip it, do not baste it and do not open the door.

How do you serve a whole roast bream?

Lift it whole onto a warm board. Scatter more fennel frond and a wedge of lemon. Carve at the table with a spoon.

Confident fish wants confident heat. Trust the oven.