Roasted Whole Red Snapper Basquaise with Peppers, Onions, Yukon Gold Potatoes
This is nature's work. All I did was cook the fish and arrange it nicely.
A big red snapper, roasted whole with caramelized peppers and onions, yukon gold potatoes, garlic, thyme, and a pan sauce of white wine and chicken stock.
I’ve wanted to learn more about fish for a while, and I had my eye on this recipe, which is from Anthony Bourdain’s Les Halles Cookbook
After scaling the fish
I learned with a case of sardines, which are a good first fish to fillet because they’re like 50 cents each. With this recipe, I just scaled and gutted the fish. But preparing fish for cooking is a useful skill, and not hard to learn.
Browning vegetables while poaching potatoes and thawing stock
The recipe starts on the stovetop. Cook some yukon gold potatoes until almost tender. While their working, brown some red and green pepper strips and onion slices in olive oil in a roasting pan, then add some garlic and thyme.
An aromatic mixture to flavor the beautiful fish
Deglaze with white wine, and add chicken stock. Then season the fish and place it and the potatoes in the pan, and into the oven.
Baste the fish three times to keep it nice and lovely moist
After roasting for 1/2 hour at 400, transfer the fish to a broiling pan and broil 3 to 5 minutes to crisp up the skin, and also broil separately the potato and vegetable mixture for a couple minutes. Then arrange the fish on a serving platter with the potatoes around it and the onions and peppers scattered about.
Pour some wine and grab a plate
Heat & Knives
The Recipe
The Les Halles Cookbook by Anthony Bourdain
2 Yukon Gold potatoes (or several, if they’re small like mine)
4 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, thinly sliced
1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded, and cut into thin strips
1 green bell pepper, cored, seeded, and cut into thin strips
4 garlic cloves, crushed
2 sprigs of thyme, leaves only
1/2 cup white wine
1 cup chicken broth or light chicken stock
1 red snapper, scales removed, gills removed, fins clipped, guts removed, but otherwise intact
pepper
juice of 1 lemon
4 sprigs of flat parsley
Stage One:
Preheat the oven to 400°F. Place the potatoes in a small pot and cover them with water. Add salt to taste and bring to a boil. Cook for 10 minutes. The potatoes should still be firm. Remove them from the water and reserve.
Stage Two:
On the stovetop, heat the olive oil in the roasting pan until it almost sizzles. Add the onions and peppers and cook over medium heat until the vegetables are soft and browned. Add the garlic and thyme and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in the white wine, scraping the bottom of the pan with the wooden spoon to dislodge all that good stuff. Stir in the chicken broth and bring the mixture to a boil.
Season the fish with salt and pepper inside and out. After the broth and vegetables have been boiling for 5 minutes, place the fish in the pan, add the potatoes, and toss the whole thing into the oven. Cook for about 30 minutes, basting the fish with the pan juices 2 or 3 times during cooking.
Stage Three:
Change the oven’s setting to broil, remove the pan from the oven, and remove the fish from the roasting pan. Place the fish on a baking sheet and put it under the broiler for 3 to 5 minutes, or until the skin turns brown and crispy. Keep an eye on it: You do not want to scorch the thing. Transfer the fish to a serving platter. Add the lemon juice to the bell pepper and potato mixture, and season with salt and pepper. After a quick shot of heat and a stir or two, spoon the mixture over and around the fish. Garnish with the parsley and serve immediately.
Now think of all the ways you can improvise on this dish.
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If you have leftovers, try some cold wrapped up in hot tortillas.
January 23rd, 2009 at 9:45 am
That looks yummy ^^
January 24th, 2009 at 10:29 am
delicious .. simple delicious .. Laila .. http://limeandlemon.wordpress.com/