Name: Whole whiting roasted with tomato, lemon and young garlic
Yield: 6
Ingredients: 6 whole whiting, backbone removed (see note), heads and tails intact (about 300gm each); 4 small lemons, thinly sliced; 1 bunch thyme; 6 stalks young garlic, roots trimmed; 250 gm love bite or cherry tomatoes, halved; 60 ml extra-virgin olive oil (¼ cup); 125 ml verjuice (½ cup); 1 lemon (juice only)

Ingredients

6 whole whiting, backbone removed (see note), heads and tails intact (about 300gm each)

4 small lemons, thinly sliced

1 bunch thyme

6 stalks young garlic, roots trimmed

250 gm love bite or cherry tomatoes, halved

60 ml extra-virgin olive oil (¼ cup)

125 ml verjuice (½ cup)

1 lemon (juice only)

Method

Main

1.Season fish cavities with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, insert lemon slices and a few sprigs of thyme into each and tie fish at intervals with cooking twine.

2.Preheat oven to 200C. Cut green tops off garlic and halve bulbs lengthways. Scatter tops over base of a roasting pan large enough to fit whiting snugly, layer over remaining lemon slices, scatter with remaining thyme, then place fish on top. Scatter garlic bulbs, then tomato over fish. Drizzle with olive oil, verjuice and lemon juice. Cover with foil, roast for 10 minutes, then remove foil and cook for another 10-12 minutes or until fish is just cooked through. Serve fish with tomato, young garlic and pan juices.

Note Ask your fishmonger to remove fish backbones for you. Any similar-sized fish can be used in this recipe, or two larger fish, such as baby snapper, could be used, but you’ll need to adjust the cooking time accordingly.
Drink Suggestion: Good bottle-aged semillon. Drink suggestion by Max Allen
Notes