Roasted Red Snapper with Fingerlings, Leeks, Garlic, and Rosemary Tagliarini ►
Deeply flavored with garlic, fennel, rosemary, thyme, lemon, and olives, this roasted snapper is like a dish of Mediterranean tastes. The rosemary pasta is the perfect accompaniment.
Ingredients
- Potatoes
- Small (fingerling) Red Potatoes - 1 pound
- Olive Oil - 1-1/2 tablespoons
- Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
- Leeks - 1 bunch, washed and cut in fine julienne
- Roasted Garlic
- Garlic - 2 heads
- Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
- Olive Oil - 1 to 1-1/2 tablespoons
- Fennel Bulbs - 2
- Roasted Red Snapper
- Extra-Virgin Olive Oil - 1 cup
- Rosemary - 1 bunch, fresh, (reserve four small sprigs)
- Thyme - 1 bunch, fresh
- Red Snapper Fillets - Four 6-ounce
- Salt and freshly ground white pepper
- Lemon - 1 thinly sliced
- Dry White Wne - 1-1/2 cups
- Fish Stock - 2 cups (alt. clam juice) (see Basics)
- Rosemary Tagliarini
- Tagliarini - 12 ounces, fresh, cooked and drained (alt. any similar pasta)
- Rosemary - 1 teaspoon, fresh, chopped
- Thyme - 1/2 teaspoon, fresh
- Italian Parsley - 2 tablespoons, chopped
- Black Pepper - 2 teaspoons, cracked
- Unsalted Butter - 2 tablespoons (optional)
- Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
- Zest and juice of 1 lemon
- tomatoes - 1, peeled, seeded, and diced
- Parsley - 1 small bunch, coarsely chopped
- Nicoise Olives - 1 cup pitted
Instructions
To prepare the potatoes: Slice the potatoes lengthwise into 1/8-inch-thick slices. Rinse and pat dry with paper towels. Heat the oil in a large saute pan or skillet over medium heat. Add the potatoes and season with salt and pepper. Lower heat to medium-low and cook 10 minutes without browning. Add the leeks, cover, and cook 5 minutes, until the leeks are slightly softened but still firm. Uncover and set aside.
To prepare the garlic: Preheat the oven to 325 F. Break the garlic heads apart and separate the largest 20 cloves. Place in a large casserole, season with salt and pepper, and drizzle with olive oil. Cover and roast 45 minutes to 1 hour, until soft and sweet. Set aside.
To prepare the fennel: Remove the tops and outer ribs and clean the bulbs. Cut in half. Bring a large pot of salted water to a full boil over high heat and add the fennel bulbs. Cook 6 minutes, remove with a slotted spoon, and plunge into ice water. Let cool enough to handle, remove, pat dry, and slice into 1/4-inch-thick slices.
To prepare the fish: Preheat the oven to 450 F. In a large ovenproof covered saute pan or skillet, add the olive oil and layer the potatoes, leeks, blanched fennel, rosemary, and thyme. Season the fish with salt and pepper and place on top. Scatter with garlic cloves and lemon slices. Place the pan over medium-high heat. When the potatoes start to sizzle, add the wine and cook 2 – 3 minutes to reduce the wine slightly. Add the stock and cover. Bring to a boil, then place the covered pan in the oven for 8 minutes, until the fish is cooked through. Remove from the oven.
To prepare the tagliarini: Toss the hot pasta with the herbs, olive oil, butter, and lemon. Season with salt and cracked pepper.
To serve: Divide the potato, leeks, and fennel slices among the serving plates and place in the center of each plate. Place a piece of fish on each. Top with more vegetables and roasted garlic cloves; scatter more roasted garlic cloves on the plates. With a meat fork, gather some pasta in the pan and roll it into a beehive; slide it onto a plate. Repeat with remaining plates. Garnish the tops of the pasta with a little diced tomato and chopped parsley. Add the remaining chopped tomato, parsley, and olives to the pan juices. Bring to a boil on top of the stove, then ladle around the fish. Garnish the tops of the fish with the reserved rosemary sprigs.
