Oven Roast Fish Recipe

Oven Roast Fish with preserved lemon, baby fennel and burnt caper butter sauce

Method

Clean the fish making sure that there is no blood in the stomach cavity. Wipe the fish dry with paper towel making sure there is no sliminess. Season the fish with salt and pepper on the skin side as well as in the stomach cavity.

Refrigerate the fish for 45min. Preheat the oven to 200 °C .

Lay out a double layer of foil a bit longer as the length of the fish and wide enough to form a parcel. On top of the foil, lay a double layer of baking paper. You are now ready to assemble the parcel.

On the bottom of the baking paper, sprinkle olive oil and add the fennel and spring onions and two slices of the preserved lemon.

With paper towel dry the fish again and set on top of the spring onions, fennel and preserved lemon. Place the rest of the preserved lemons on top of the fish, and squeeze the juice of one lemon over the fish. Wrap the fish in the foil and baking paper making sure there is no openings in the foil or baking paper. Bake in the oven for 40 min.

10 Minutes before the end of baking, get two saucepans on the stove. In one pan add a knob of butter and water just to cover the bottom of the pan. Bring up to a boil and add the asparagus and season. Cook for two minutes with a lid on, and take of the heat.

In the other saucepan add the 120g butter and bring up to heat, the butter should foam and become brown. Make sure not to burn the butter. If it is brown and smells nutty, add the capers and fry till almost crispy, then add the rest of the lemon juice and cream. Reduce by half.

To assemble:

Remove the foil but keep the fish in the baking paper, as this is how you will present the fish. Neatly pull of the top fillet skin. Add the asparagus to the fish and pour the caper sauce over the asparagus and fish. Serve with crusty bread or boiled baby potatoes.