In Memory Of Karen Nicole Smith, 1972 - 2016

Easy Oven Roasted Snapper Recipe for Beginners.


Being in the Lenten season, it means there’s an increase in requests for more fish recipes. With that in mind and with my occasional craving for ocean fish (I dislike ‘sweet-water” fish, meaning anything from lakes and rivers), I figured I’d share a one-pan fish recipe. Something even the novice can easily put together with ease and confidence.

1 1/2 lb Snapper
2 lemons (divided)
8 sprigs thyme (divided)
8 cloves garlic (divided)
small bunch of parsley (divided)
3/4 tablespoon sea salt (divided)
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
3/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 1/4 cup olive oil
4-5 medium potatoes (pre-boiled)
2 bell peppers (rough chop)
1 medium zucchini (rough chop)

Notes! If making this recipe gluten free, please go through the full list of ingredients to make sure they meet your specific gluten free dietary requirements. May I suggest you follow along using the video below as much more about the recipe is discussed there.

Give the potatoes a good wash and boil in salted water until tender. There’s no need to peel them and the potato you decide to use is totally up to you. I used Yukon Gold. Set aside to cool.

Wash the fish with the juice of 1/2 a lemon and cool water, then give it a couple shallow cuts across the belly on both sides (see image below). In the cavity of the fish you’ll place 3 sprigs of thyme, 3 slices of lemon, 2 cloves of garlic sliced and 3 sprigs of parsley. Then tie with kitchen string to secure everything (explained in the video).

Next up is to make the seasoning or dressing to coat everything with. In a bowl place the olive oil, salt, black pepper, remaining parsley (chopped fine), remaining garlic (crushed), thyme leaves (remove from stems), and juice the remaining lemon. Then toss in the Italian seasoning and pepper flakes for a slight kick. Mix well to combine.

Preheat the oven to 400F. It’s important that you reserve 1/3 of this dressing to drizzle onto the fish after it comes out of the oven.

Place the stuffed fish, bell peppers, zucchini and pre-boiled potatoes onto the same roasting pan and coat with the 2/3 of the dressing we made. Mix well. Into the oven uncovered on the middle rack. See my tip on adding carrots in the video below.

Depending on the size of the fish you used, in 20 minutes you can remove it from the oven, drizzle on the remaining dressing and enjoy! If you want you can flip the vegetables 1/2 way though roasting. For a larger fish, you’ll need a few minutes more of roasting time. You can also squeeze on some fresh lemon juice before serving.

IMPORTANT! Whole fish (as I used) will have bones, so please be mindful of this when serving to children.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email
Share:

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *