What’s cooking, good-looking? This simple Baked Snapper recipe is so simple yet indulgent, that you’ll quickly add it to your weekly dinner roster.
Baking fish in paper is a great way to minimise mess when cooking and serving, but it also locks in all the moisture while cooking, giving you a really delicate result. The coriander salsa can be hand chopped as we have done or, if you’re short of time, you can pulse the ingredients in a food processor or blender until it’s a coarse paste. The spiced butter is also perfect with grilled pork or roasted vegetables. If you like, you can also make individual parcels using six snapper fillets – the cooking time on these dinner recipes may need to be adjusted.
This Baked Snapper recipe pairs perfectly with our recipe for Roasted Carrots with Burnt Butter and Honey, and our recipe for Pea Salad with Whipped Ricotta and Preserved Lemon Dressing.
Snapper Baked In Paper and Coriander-Walnut Salsa
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Roasting Time: 30 minutes
Serves 6
Ingredients
- 2 (800g each) whole snapper
- 1 lemon, ½ thinly sliced and the remaining ½ juiced, plus extra wedges, to serve
- 8 thyme sprigs
Spiced Butter
- ½ tsp coriander seeds
- ¼ tsp fennel seeds
- 1 garlic clove, coarsely chopped
- ½ tsp paprika
50g softened butter
Coriander-Walnut Salsa
- 2 bunches of coriander, finely chopped (should make 1½ cups firmly packed), plus extra leaves to garnish
- 150g roasted walnuts, finely chopped
- 1 small garlic clove, crushed
- 60ml (¼ cup) extra virgin olive oil
- Juice of ½ lemon, or to taste
Method
- For spiced butter, dry roast whole spices in a small frying pan over medium heat until toasted and fragrant (20-30 seconds). Transfer to a mortar and pestle and finely grind, then add garlic and a large pinch of salt and pound to a paste. Stir through paprika and butter and set aside.
- Working with one snapper at a time, place a sheet of foil on a work surface, large enough to enclose the snapper, then line it with a large piece of baking paper the same size. (If needed, you can lay down two pieces each of foil and paper, overlapping them in the centre.) Place snapper on top, then scatter over half the lemon slices, lemon juice and thyme, and dot with half the spiced butter. Fold the longest sides of the foil and paper up and over the top of the snapper and fold them a few times over to seal the top of the foil, then fold in the shortest ends a few times to secure the parcel. Repeat with the remaining snapper. (You can make the snapper parcels ahead a few hours and refrigerate until required.)
- Preheat oven to 220°C. Place snapper onto a baking tray and roast until cooked through (30 minutes). To test if the snapper is ready, insert a metal skewer into the thickest part and if the skewer feels hot to touch, the fish is cooked.
- Meanwhile, for the coriander-walnut salsa, combine ingredients in a bowl, then season to taste with salt, pepper and more lemon juice.
- Serve snapper with coriander-walnut salsa on the side, extra coriander leaves to garnish if using, and extra lemon for squeezing.
Looking for more dinner recipe inspiration? Perfect for fussy eaters, Into The Sauce‘s Broccolini Goats Cheese Pasta Recipe combines a sumptuous dish of broccolini and pasta with generous servings of goat’s cheese.