Whole roasted herby fish with noodle salad

Method

(*Choose local fish – you could use pink snapper, coral trout or barramundi. Ask your fishmonger to prepare the fish by descaling and gutting it. Serves 6. )

Preheat the oven to 180C.

Prepare the marinade by blitzing all the ingredients (including olive oil from The Sathya Olive Company or Fini Olives) quickly in a food processor. Don’t blitz for too long or it will turn into a paste. You want everything chopped fine, but still able to see the separate colours.  

Make three long cuts on each of the fish, cutting through the skin and halfway into the flesh. Spoon one third of the marinade inside the centre cavity of the fish, ensuring it is spread out. Rub the next third across one side of the fish, filling in each cut and covering it from head to tail. Turn the fish over and repeat on the other side with the remaining marinade.  

Place on a large oven dish or tray and cover with baking paper and then seal with aluminium foil. It is fine if the end of the tail is sticking up or over the edge – just make sure it is wrapped in aluminium foil and the fish is sealed inside. 

Roast in the oven for about 40 minutes. The time will vary depending on the size of the fish, so take it out of the oven to check in the last 5-10 minutes. If the flesh is no longer transparent and ready to flake apart, it’s ready.  Allow it to rest for a few minutes.  

While the fish is cooking, prepare the salad. Shred the cabbage and spring onions. Grate the carrot and chop up the herbs (removing the stems). Mix them all together with the bean shoots in a large bowl. 

Soak the noodles in hot water for 5 minutes (or according to packet instructions) until just tender and then roughly chop with a pair of scissors. Run the noodles under cold water and then mix through the vegies, along with the peanuts.  Set aside.

To make the dressing, place all the ingredients in a clean jar and seal with the lid. Shake to combine and then taste and season. When ready to serve with the fish, pour the dressing over the salad. 

To serve the fish, peel off the top layer of skin. The flesh of the fish should come easily away from the bone. Once the flesh has been removed, pull the end of the tail up to pull the bones and spine out of the fish, towards the head. This should leave you with the bottom side of the fish to devour.