Tom's Butterflied Snapper with Tomato and Oregano

 

Notes from Tom:


This is my absolute favourite dish at Bea and really hits what I want to achieve with the menu. Land, sea, Australian produce and a wood fire pit. 


Snapper is a great fish that you can find at the fish markets, and most likely at your local fish shop. You can also use Sea Bream for this recipe. My tip, ask the fishmonger to descale the fish and also remove the guts; you can do this at home but it’s a little messy, and who has the time for that?

 

 

Ingredients:


Snapper
•    500g whole Pink Snapper, scaled and gutted
•    Olive Oil
•    Sea Salt


Blistered cherry tomato and oregano oil
•    500g cherry tomato 
•    100g eschallot, sliced thin
•    Small handful picked basil leaf
•    Small bunch picked oregano
•    20ml sherry vinegar
•    1 lemon, juiced
•    100ml olive oil
•    Sea salt
•    Cracked white pepper

 

 

Method:


1.    To start, we have to butterfly the fish. We use a serrated bread knife, hold the fish flat to a board and cut through the belly and halfway through the head. To pin bone the snapper lay it skin side down and run your finger down the inside flesh and you will feel some small bones protruding out. Using a pair of tweezers, gently pull the bones out of the flesh. If you pull these out at the angle they are pointing they will come out very easily. Don’t worry if you break a few, you’re only human, they aren’t too annoying to get out after the fish cooks. Once the flesh cooks they expose themselves a little more.


2.    Dab the inside of the fish dry with a paper towel and season with salt and olive oil, flip the fish and repeat on the skin side. 


3.    For the blistered tomatoes you are going to need to fire up that barbecue. Season the cherry tomatoes in a little olive oil, salt and pepper and place them over the grill, ensuring they get a little bit of flame but a nice caramelised skin. Remove from the grill and set aside. 


4.    Back in the kitchen, in a medium heat pan add olive oil and sliced eschallot and sweat down gently until soft. Add the blistered cherry tomato, picked basil leaf, oregano leaf, sherry vinegar, lemon juice and season with salt and pepper. Place in a 100C oven in an oven friendly dish for 1 hour, just so those tomato sugars and flavours mix throughout the oil.


5.    Place the snapper skin side down on the grill and cook at a medium high heat for about 3 minutes, or until nicely charred. I know it’s tempting but try not to move the fish too much while it’s cooking, if you want to check on how much the fish is charred then lift the tail up gently and you will get a good idea. This is a delicate fish so the less you play with it, the better. 


6.    Once you can see that the fish is turning a little opaque on the flesh side gently turn it over and cook for 1 more minute. Remove from the barbecue straight on to a plate to not waste any fish ‘’juice’’ that will leak from the fish. Season with a little lemon juice and sea salt and then cover the fish in the blistered cherry tomato and oregano oil.


7.    Serve this simply with a butter leaf salad, some steamed broccolini or even a side of roasted potato.