I usually buy fish fillets but since I’m on school holidays and have more time to try new recipes I thought I’d try to bake a whole fish. I asked the fishmonger to scale, clean and gut a whole snapper however when I got home there was still some blood inside the cavity. This grossed me out so I stuck it on a plate and put it in the fridge thinking I’d just have to wait until BRW got home to finish cleaning it. After speaking to him on the phone I decided to toughen up and get on with it. So I washed out the cavity under running water and it wasn’t as bad as I originally thought but I think I’ll stick to fillets in future.

My sister has been cooking and blogging about recipes from the healthy chef recently so I thought I better jump on the band wagon and give her recipe a go.  It was pretty easy to make and I usually don’t like ginger but I thought I’d use it anyway since it was listed in the ingredients. It didn’t overpower the fish but I think next time I would chop the lemongrass alot finer.  I didn’t read the recipe properly and sliced circles instead of chopping it finely, which resulted in big chunks of lemongrass that unfortunately did overpower the taste.

Since I was using my stove top grill I thought I’d also make some grilled zucchini and sweet potato. I just love those grill lines on vege’s. It makes them taste so much better. To add another burst of colour I also used canned corn, which is always so easy.

 The recipe said an 800g snapper serves 6 but the two of us polished it off quite easily.  

Although this was an interesting experience, since it is just as easy to buy fillets from the shops I’m going to stick to making my version of  fish en papillote. Next time I make it I’ll take some snaps and share the recipe here.

Whole barbecued snapper

Serves 6

800g snapper, scaled, cleaned and gutted

1 lemon grass stem, finely chopped (white part only)

2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger

60ml mirin or dry sherry

2 teaspoons grated palm sugar

2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 spring onions, sliced

1 handful coriander, chopped

Preheat BBQ to hot. Wash the fish and pat dry on paper towels. Cut three slits down both sides of the fish. Place the fish in the centre of a large piece of foil (shiny side up). Combine the lemon grass, ginger, mirin and soy sauce. Rub the mixture over both sides and inside the fish, then pour the rest over the top. Sprinkle over half the spring onion and coriander, then seal the fish well in the foil, ensuring there are no gaps.

Place onto the hot barbeque grill plate and cook for about 10 minutes each side, or until cooked through (the flesh should be white to the bone). Garnish with the remaining spring onion and coriander.

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2. Coriander and Lime Wild Salmon with a Mango and Black Bean Salsa
3. Paprika dusted fish with roasted reds