Red Snapper

Tuesday August 19

The fish counter at our local supermarket, Zehrs, had a pair of bright red snappers that caught Holt's eye. When he got them home, though, he discovered that red snapper scales are particularly large and obstreperous, and when you try to scrape them off they ricochet all over the kitchen. He wrestled them to the ground, however, and prepared the denuded fish somewhat along these lines.

There were lots of changes, however. He used oregano and thyme for the fish's seasoning on outside and inside, instead of za'atar. He skipped the artichokes - the bed of tomatoes would provide plenty of vedge, especially since they were beefsteaks from the farmers' market. The recipe boils garlic three times so you won't be able to taste it, and then scatters the cloves over the fish to roast for a few minutes, which is ridiculous and adds nothing. And for the aioli, he pre-roasted garlic in the toaster oven for twenty minutes and then beat it into some prepared mayonnaise with a little extra lemon juice (okay, so we didn't bring our robot-coupe with us).

The result, served with a Featherstone Sauvignon Blanc 2006, was a light, buttery, well-seasoned fish on a luscious roast tomato bed. Maybe they're so well-armored because they taste so good.