Baked Whole Red Snapper with Quinoa and Steamed Asparagus

Being that this is technically my first post, I figured that erring on the side of caution would not be the best idea. So, I went the other way. I went BIG! I've always wanted to use a whole fish when cooking, but the intimidation factor has usually presided. Today? Not the case.

The idea of baking a whole fish came to us randomly this morning while stopping at Whole Foods to fully take advantage of any Greek yogurt sales that may have been going on (sadly, there were none).The fresh fish department, however, is on the way to the refrigerated goods, so it only seemed right to stop. Great news: They had red snapper and it was even on sale. SOLD!

Baked Whole Red Snapper with Quinoa and Steamed Asparagus
(makes 4 servings - based on a 2 pound fish)

Ingredients:
1 whole red snapper, scaled and cleaned
2 lemons
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons of butter, cut into small squares
8 sprigs fresh thyme
salt
pepper
splash of white wine

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. On a large baking sheet covered in foil, place two more pieces of overlapping foil, perpendicular to the baking sheet.Grease with butter and place 6 or 7 lemon slices down the middle. Set aside.
3. Double check to make sure that all scales have been removed and that the cavity is free of entrails. When purchasing your fish, ask the fishmonger to scale and clean it for you. This will save a lot of time (and mess!).
4. On a large cutting board, thinly slice the lemon. Based on the size of your fish, you may need to use half of the 2nd lemon as well. Set aside.
5. Rinse snapper under cold water.Pat dry with paper towels, including the cavity.
6. With the head of the fish on the left, make 4 diagonal cuts (top to bottom) on the body of the fish. Flip fish over, and repeat on opposite side. If you feel like you are cutting through little bones, you are! These will be used to add flavor directly into the fillets.
7. Sprinkle the cavity with salt, pepper, and some of the minced garlic. Dot with butter. Place two sprigs of thyme on top of the butter, followed by 3 or 4 lemons. Place two more sprigs of thyme on top of the lemons and then dot with butter. Close cavity.
8. Stuff the diagonal cuts loosely with minced garlic and half a thyme sprig in each one. Rub salt and pepper over the body.
9. Close cavity, and flip fish over (the head should now be on the left).
10. Place the fish on the baking sheet, on top of the lemons. Repeat step #8 and line the top of the fish with the rest of the lemon slices.
11. Squeeze the other half of the lemon juice over the fish followed by a splash of white wine. Close foil and seal.
12. Bake for 45-50 minutes.
13. 15 minutes before serving, make the quinoa according to package directions. 10 minutes before serving, steam the asparagus.
14. Remove the fish from the oven, debone and serve!


Enjoy!

xoxo

j.