This local catch in San Diego is cooked with a garlicky sun-dried tomato butter and served with fregola sarda pasta.
See Nicole Litvack’s story about Darian Schramm and his efforts to bring fresh fish to inland communities.
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RECIPE: Whole Roasted Rockfish
- Yield: Serves 4-6 1x
Description
A whole roasted fish makes for a fast and impressive dinner. I often smother mine in some form of compound butter and serve it with a side of pasta or rice and roasted market vegetables. In this recipe, I’m tossing roasted tomatoes and garlic together with a small pearl-shaped pasta called fregola sarda. It perfectly complements the garlicky sun-dried tomato butter used to roast the fish.
Ingredients
- 1 whole rockfish, about 4 to 5 pounds, scaled and cleaned
- 1 cup sun-dried tomatoes in olive oil, drained
- 8 tablespoons butter (1 stick), softened
- 3 whole heads garlic
- 3 whole lemons
- Salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 bunch parsley
- 3 cups cherry or small tomatoes
- ¼ cup olive oil, divided
- 1 cup fregola sarda
- Flaky salt such as Maldon for finishing
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450°F. Pat dry the fish, and cut three slices along each side of the fish down to the bone. Set on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Coarsely chop the sun-dried tomato and set in the bowl of your food processor along with the butter. Peel one head of garlic and add the cloves to the food processor along with the juice from one lemon and plenty of salt and pepper. Pulse everything until well combined.Â
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Cut the second lemon into thin slices. Use your hands to cover the fish all over (inside and out) with the compound butter. Make sure you get plenty of butter into the slits and the cavity of the fish. Add sliced lemon and half the parsley to the cavity of the fish. Â
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Place the whole tomatoes and remaining heads of garlic on the sheet pan along with the fish. Drizzle everything with two tablespoons of olive oil, and hit it again with salt and pepper. Roast for 35 to 40 minutes or until the flesh of the fish is opaque and flakes easily off the bone. Time will vary depending on the size of the fish. (A 2 to 3 pound fish will cook in about 20 to 25 minutes.) Start checking after 20 minutes. Â
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While the fish roasts, prepare the fregola sarda according to package directions. Once cooked, drain, and toss with the remaining olive oil and juice from the third lemon. Chop remaining parsley (including stems) and stir into the pasta mixture; reserving a few pinches for the very end. Season to taste with salt and pepper, adding more lemon juice if desired.Â
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When the fish is done, stir the roasted tomatoes into the fregola sarda. Squeeze the roasted garlic cloves out of their papery package and into the tomato pasta mixture. They will be hot! Toss everything together and season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve fish over the tomato-garlic fregola. Finish with remaining parsley and flakey salt.
Notes
- When buying whole fish, make sure the eyes are clear (not cloudy) and the skin is shiny, bright, and moist.
- Fregola sarda is available at your local Italian market or online. Or substitute your pasta of choice or rice.
