Whole roast fish with lemon and tarragon butter

Name: Whole roast fish with lemon and tarragon butter
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 50 min
Total time: 1 h 5 min
Yield: Serves 3-4
Ingredients: 1kg white potatoes, such as maris piper or king edward, peeled and sliced into 1cm rounds; 2 lemons, sliced into 3-4mm thick rounds (ends discarded); 1 red onion, halved and thickly sliced; Bunch fresh tarragon; 4 garlic cloves, bashed but not peeled; 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil; Large (1.4kg) line-caught bream, sea bass or other sustainable white fish, scaled and gutted; Large knob of butter, softened; s2You’ll also need…; Large heavy-duty roasting dish/tray; compostable baking paper

Published: 6 Feb 20
Updated: 18 Mar 24

Test kitchen approved

”Fresh fish and potatoes; it’s a marriage nearly always augmented by lemon, but all too often it’s the merest spritz. Here I’m rewriting the matrimony papers and lemons sit square in the middle.” – Gill Meller

Serves 3-4
Hands-on time 15 min, oven time 48-50 min

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Ingredients

1kg white potatoes, such as maris piper or king edward, peeled and sliced into 1cm rounds
2 lemons, sliced into 3-4mm thick rounds (ends discarded)
1 red onion, halved and thickly sliced
Bunch fresh tarragon
4 garlic cloves, bashed but not peeled
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
Large (1.4kg) line-caught bream, sea bass or other sustainable white fish, scaled and gutted
Large knob of butter, softened

You’ll also need…

Large heavy-duty roasting dish/tray; compostable baking paper

Method

Heat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/gas 6. Scatter the potatoes, lemon slices, onion, half the tarragon and the garlic over the base of the dish or tray. Drizzle with the olive oil and season well. Cover loosely with baking paper (to prevent the food colouring too quickly), then roast for 30 minutes or until the potatoes are tender, turning everything once or twice. Remove from the oven (see Make Ahead).
Turn the oven up to 220°C/200°C fan/gas 7. Slash the fish 4-6 times on each side, then lay it on top of the potatoes and lemons. Chop the remaining tarragon, mix it with the softened butter, then spread this mixture over the fish and season with salt and pepper.
Return the dish/tray to the oven and roast for 18-20 minutes until the fish is just cooked through. Check by inserting the tip of a sharp knife into one of the slashes and teasing the flesh from the bone. If it comes away with ease, it’s cooked. Take the whole tray to the table to serve.

Recipe from January 2020 Issue

Nutrition

Nutrition: per serving

Calories: 453kcals
Fat: 12.3g (2.2g saturated)
Protein: 32g
Carbohydrates: 50.6g (4.7g sugars)
Fibre: 6g
Salt: 0.5g

delicious. tips

Learn how to cook a whole fish below…
A cool, unoaked Spanish white will delight – best of all a citrus-fresh albariño.

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