In honor of The Bend’s 10th Anniversary Issue, Farm to Table curators Justin and Kayla Butts reminisce over 10 years of shared recipes. The Farm to Table section was first added to the magazine in June 2014, and a baked whole snapper recipe launched what would later become a monthly article. The fish used in the photos was from Morgan Street Seafood. A relatively quick meal, the recipe takes just under an hour to complete.
Baked Whole Snapper Recipe
Serves 4-6 | Prep time: 15 minutes | Cook time: 30-50 minutes
Ingredients:
- 3-5 lb whole snapper, head on, cleaned and scaled
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 3 lemons (or limes), sliced
- 1/2 onion, sliced
- 1/4 cup fresh dill, finely chopped
- 3 sprigs fresh rosemary, finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tbsp olive oil
For white wine butter sauce:
- 4 tbsp butter
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- zest and juice of one lemon (or lime)
- 2 tbsp onion, finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/4 cup dry white wine
- 1/3 cup fresh dill
Directions:
For the fish:
Preheat oven to 400ºF. Place fish side down onto oiled aluminum foil. Drizzle cavity with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
Place lemon and onion slices into the fish cavity. Combine dill, rosemary, garlic and olive oil in a small bowl.
Make 5 parallel half-inch deep incisions along the side of the fish and fill them with herb-garlic mixture.
Bake for 30 minutes for a three-pound fish (or ten minutes per pound) in a preheated oven until the flesh flakes with a fork or until the internal temperature reaches 145 degrees.
For the white wine butter sauce:
Heat butter and olive oil over medium heat while the fish cooks. Sweat onions for 2 minutes.
Add garlic and lemon zest. Cook until fragrant, stirring frequently.
Add white wine and lemon juice and simmer on medium-low heat for five minutes.
Remove from heat and add dill.
Pull the fish away from the bone and serve with white wine butter sauce.
