Recipe30 minutes · serves 2 · Easy

Whole Roasted Branzino with Lemon and Herbs

Cooked on the bone at high heat so nothing dries out. One fish per person.

Buy the fish for this recipe

Ingredients

  • 2 whole branzino, scaled and gutted
  • 1 lemon, sliced
  • A handful of parsley, thyme or dill
  • 1 fennel bulb or 2 potatoes, sliced thin
  • Olive oil, salt, pepper

Method

  1. 01

    Heat the oven to 220°C. Score the flanks twice on each side, down to the bone.

  2. 02

    Season inside and out, then pack the cavity with lemon slices and herbs.

  3. 03

    Lay the fish on a bed of sliced fennel or potato, dressed with oil and salt.

  4. 04

    Roast 18–25 minutes depending on size.

  5. 05

    Check the thickest point behind the head — the flesh should lift cleanly from the bone.

From the counter: Ask us to scale and gut it at the counter and this becomes a fifteen-minute job at home.

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