Baked fish with fennel, peppers and feta

Babiche Martens

I am baking the fish here, stuffed and tied with string. Choose fillets of around 150g each, so a single fish will serve two. It’s great to catch your own, but if this is not an option, a fishmonger will scale and fillet your chosen fish for you. For pleasurable eating remove any pin bones. Tweezers work well for this purpose. The sweet flavour of the fennel and pepper combined with the feta is scrummy. I used to pick watercress from the creek on the farm, but I now buy it from the vegetable shop. I love the peppery taste it adds. When the weather is a bit warmer try cooking the fish, tied with flax, on the barbecue.

Ingredients

2 small	Whole snapper, filleted, skin on (Main)
1 Tbsp	Oil
½ head	Fennel, sliced thinly
2 cloves	Garlic, crushed
1	Red pepper, sliced thinly
100 g	Feta
½ cup	Watercress, chopped
¼ cup	Chopped parsley

Directions

1. Set oven to 200C.
2. Heat the oil in a frying pan on medium heat. Add the fennel and garlic. Cook for 2 or 3 minutes then add the red pepper. Continue to cook until the vegetables have softened. Add the parsley and watercress. Let cool. Crumble in the feta and season with salt and pepper.
3. Lie two fillets skin down on a board. Spread the filling evenly on top. Place the remaining fillet on top, skin up. Tie the fish together securely with string or flax.
4. Drizzle with olive oil then bake in the oven for 20 minutes until cooked through. Remove from the oven, cut off the string and serve hot with a squeeze of lemon.

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