Recipe > Mains
Roasted Red Snapper Stuffed with Rocket, Sage and Lemon and wrapped in Parma Ham.
Oh my gosh but my mother loves this! Real yummy italian flavours that combine to really compliment this white fleshed fish.
A very easy dish, simple to prepare and looks impressive when served. Ask your fishmonger to 'pocket fillet' your red snapper; where the spinal column and the rib cage of the fish are removed, leaving a cavity easy to stuff and season whilst still leaving the fish whole, with head and tail intact.
Serve with roast squash and roast cherry tomatoes.

(I...erm, had a bad day and managed to delete all the origonal photos. Blame it on the lack of coffee. So the photos on the right are a quick revamp using trout which was the only fish I had available at the time. Sorry x)

Serves 2

Ingredients
2 x 320g /11oz butterfly filleted red snapper.
1 lemon, zest and juice of
2 lemon wedges to garnish
8-10 large Sage leaves
1 bunch rocket
Sea Salt and Cracked Black Pepper
4 slices of  parma ham
Olive oil
2 lemon wedges to garnish.

For the sauce:
85g butter or margarine
1 Tblsp flaked almonds
1 Tsp lemon juice

Mise-en-Place:
Set Oven to gas mark 7/ 220°C/ 425°F
Zest and juice the lemon. (Set aside 1 Teaspoon for the sauce)
Wash and very roughly chop the rocket and sage, mix with the lemon juice and set aside.
Cut 2 x lemon wedges

Method:
Season the cavity of the snapper with a pinch of salt, pepper and lemon juice, rub into the length of the cavity.
Stuff each snapper with the rocket and chopped sage, distributing the leaves evenly along the cavity.
Wrap 2 slices of parma ham along each snapper's body, leaving the head and tail uncovered.
Place snapper in an oiled roasting tray. (It is important to lay the fish down so that it sits upon the overlap where the Parma ham ends meet. This leaves the top of the fish with an unbroken ‘blanket’ of Parma ham - this side will be your presentation side for plating up.)
Drizzle each fish with a rough 2-3 Tblsp of Olive Oil and the reserved Lemon.
Place fish in the oven for 20-25 minutes.
When cooked the exterior flesh should be nicely browned and the inside of the cavity should be white and no longer translucent. If the fish isn’t cooked to your satisfaction cover with Tin-foil and return to oven. (However be careful not to overcook fish as it will fall apart when you attempt to lift it from the tray!)

While the fish is cooking make the sauce:
Melt the butter in a frying pan, add the flaked almonds and cook until gently browned. Season with the lemon juice

When the fish has cooked serve immediately with the sauce

Presentation:
If serving with roast squash and roast cherry tomatoes arrange both items across one side of the plate, place the snapper on the other half.
Pour any pan juices left inside the roasting tray over the fish.
Garnish with sage tips and lemon wedges.


Chef Tip:
When lifting the Snapper from the Tray be careful to support the whole length of the fish, if the flesh is overcooked the fish might  break in two, remember there is no spine left to support the fish’s weight.
I would suggest using both a palette knife and a fish slice to lift the fish from the tray, be sure to push the palette knife completely under the fish before lifting.