Mediterranean Whole Roasted Red Snapper Recipe with Garlic and Vegetables

This Mediterranean whole red snapper recipe is an easy, healthy and tasty weeknight meal! You can put it together in minutes! 

After the big Thanksgiving feast, and the following days of glorious leftovers, many of us crave something on the lighter side. Some will even resort to eating plain leafy greens (hold the dressing), while others take drastic measures following a famine-like liquid diet or some all-too-quick detoxification method.

Whatever the case, all we are really trying to do is gain some balance as we prepare ourselves for more holiday feasting later. Also attempt to spend less time in the kitchen for now. Am I right?

Enter today’s  red snapper recipe with garlic and vegetables. It is filling, light, and easy to make.

Red snapper is a celebrated fish in the Mediterranean region. My mom prepared it all sorts of ways; never the same recipe twice.  The beauty of red snapper is that it is a lean, moist fish with firm texture. And because of its mild, slightly sweet taste, red snapper accepts all sorts of seasonings. I–no surprise to you– chose to use fresh garlic as the main flavoring agent here. And with it, fresh dill, ground cumin, and coriander. But you can certainly try different herbs and spices as you like.

Because this recipe already includes roasted vegetables, I serve it on busy weeknights with a side of rice and fattoush salad.

Note:  to make things easy, you’ll want to get your fishmonger to clean and gut the whole snapper; and you can choose to have the head removed, if you prefer.

Here is the step-by-step for this roasted red snapper recipe:

Preheat the oven to 425 degree F. Pat the snapper fish dry. With a large knife, make two slits on each side of the fish.

Fill the slits and coat the gut cavity of each fish with the minced garlic.

To make the spice mix, combine the cumin, coriander, salt, pepper and sumac in a small bowl. Use 3/4 of the spice mix to season the snapper on both sides, pat the spices into the fish pushing it into the slits you made earlier. Keep the remainder 1/4 of the spice mix aside for now.

Now stuff each gut cavity with the chopped dill, and as much of the sliced peppers, tomatoes and onions as possible.

Place the stuffed fish on a lightly oiled baking sheet. Add the remaining sliced vegetables to form a frame around the fish. Sprinkle the vegetables with a pinch of salt and the remaining 1/4 spice mixture from earlier. Drizzle everything generously with olive oil.

Place the baking sheet on the lower rack of your 425 degrees F heated oven. Roast for 25 minutes until the fish flakes.Transfer the fish to a serving platter and squeeze juice of one lemon all over it. Use the slits you made earlier to help you portion the fish. Serve with wedges of the remaining lemon.

Enjoy with a side of rice and fattoush salad, if you like.

 

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