FEAR OF FISH!!!!


Darlings, do you have a fear of fish?  La Diva isn't talking about the literal fear of fish or ichthyophobia, but actually the fear of COOKING fish, particularly WHOLE fish?

I think you do.  Admit it.  Ok, then, when was the last time you bought and cooked a whole fish, huh, HUH?!

Yeah, I thought so.

I think many people avoid buying whole fish because they are just plain ol' scared and unsure of what to do with it.  How do you clean it?  How do you buy it? WhaddyameanIgottatouchit?!  IT'S ALL TOO HARD!!!

Chill.  "There, there, darling." (pats head comfortingly)  La Diva will help EASE you out of your FEAR OF FISH once and for all.

And why whole fish anyway?  Well, why not?  It's about as silly as saying to yourself, why roast a whole chicken?  The whole fish is so flavorful and opens up so many more opportunities for cooking techniques you couldn't do with just a fillet.


When La Diva called Australia her home, I was exposed to so many types of fish and most of them were sold as whole fish.  To ask the fishmonger to fillet a whole fish for just a few pieces to sell is, well, wasteful.  You either buy the whole fish and he will clean them or you buy a fillet of something else.  So, really, I had much more choice and variety when I bought fish whole.  It's also usually fresher and certainly is cheaper by the pound as the more food is processed, the more costly it becomes.


 That strange "stuff" in the front of the cooler is actually local conch from the Florida Keys!

Sunday was the opening of Southern Florida's farmer's market season and you know La Diva HAD to be there.  I found this gentleman from the Islamorada Shrimp Company had several coolers of local seafood and when I saw he had hognose snapper, I jumped at the chance to buy it.  Why?  Because its local,  I NEVER see it at the grocery store and it looked fresh, smelled like the sea (and I love the delicate flavor and texture of snapper!)

Now, what to do with it?  Well, I just bought the most gorgeous fennel from Redland Organics so.......La Diva is going to braise the fennel and BAKE IT!

La Diva's Baked Hognose Snapper with Braised Fennel and Tomato


 Dat hognose sho' has a big mouth!  Wonder how many little fishies he can take at once?






 Fresh from the farm fennel along with a shallot, a handful of grape tomatoes and a clove of garlic will flavor the fish.

 Sweat the sliced fennel, garlic and shallot in a bit of olive oil,  then add a dash of white wine and a 1/2 cup chicken broth.  Braise on low heat for about 15 minutes or until fennel is fork tender.  Add more broth if it gets too dry, but don't add salt if you are using regular broth as reducing will make it salty enough.




 Cut all the top and bottom fins off, and the gills too.  Be careful, they can be pretty spiny and tough!  This fish was already scaled and gutted, but I gave it a good rinse anyway.  I scored the surface on both sides and salted the inside.




Push fennel to the side, add a few halved grape tomatoes and put the fish into the pan.  Drizzle with a bit of olive oil, add salt and pepper and then spoon some of the fennel mixture over the top, add another 1/2 cup of chicken broth.  Bake in a 375 degree pre-heated oven.  This fish was 1.5 lbs. and it came out beautifully after 20 minutes.

Carefully remove the top layer of fish onto a plate, making sure to get all pieces and taking off any visible bones.  Carefully remove the spine, head, tail and throw away, and put remaining piece of fish on plate.  This fish was very soft and fell into pieces.  That's ok!  Garnish with fennel fronds and spoon over fennel and tomato sauce.




RESULT:  I was pretty darn happy with the result.  I always love the concentrated anise flavor of braised fennel and it suits the mild, sweetness of this fish and does not over power its delicacy.  The skin was hardly an issue, very fine and offered no fishy taste.   I served this fish with buttered fingerling potatoes and honey glazed carrots but it would go great with a bit of rice or a wild rice mixture for more texture.

Now see, wasn't that EASY?  Sure it's a bit fiddly but so is eating chicken wings, ribs, oysters and crab legs, all stuff well worth the effort!  La Diva will be heading to the market again next Sunday and if there is some good pickin's from the sea, I'll see what technique I'll favor next time to help you get over your FEAR OF FISH!!!!

For more hints on how to buy fish and other fish information, click HERE.

ONLY A FEW MORE CHANCES TO LEARN SOME FABULOUS COCKTAILS AND CANAPES FOR THE UPCOMING HOLIDAYS!  CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT MORE INFO!

24 comments:

  1. Diva goes "whole hognose to tail" - I love it! A gorgeous dish, made accessible in true La Diva fashion. I wish I could eat some of that now!

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  2. It's not the fish that scares me...it's the fennel. We used to have it growing wild back home and if you happened to run into it your eyes would sting and you could taste it, plus you smelled like it for the rest of the day. It's pungent stuff! *cowers*

    btw I love it here!! *darts back under table*

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  3. *brandishes handful of fennel and chases Ms. Nations around the room*

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  4. tee hee! Funny you should be doing that MJ as when I was at the market, I was participating in a whole lotta fennel fondling and flirting, it was fun!

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  5. First Nations, where did you grow up? I remember fields of wild fennel in Sydney.

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  6. That's the same guy I bought my conch and shrimp from two weeks ago. I was very happy with the quality and freshness of the local stuff I got. (He had a fair number of imports too but I didn't get any of them). Nice to have him making the rounds of the markets.

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  7. Heavy heavy sigh. I don't fear the fish but just not economically feasible to buy the whole fish for just little ole me. Plus you know it's been frozen since I'm in the Seafood Desert of the Midwest. I cry every night for fresh seafood.

    Never heard of a hognose snapper. He appears to be in need of some serious orthodontic work.

    Is fennel one of those ingredients that inspire either love or hate, like cilantro?

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  8. Bill, he had a sign advertising all fish is wild caught but I guess not necessarily local. The fish was so fresh and delicate, I was really impressed.

    My poor landlocked orca, I feel your pain, I do. Apparently, there are all types of snapper, we have several varieties here including yellowtail.

    I think fennel is so underused, another one of those foods that I think people are not quite sure what to do with it!

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  9. Heff normally doesn't fear fish, but that one pictured scares the HELL of of me !!

    As always, YOU LOOK AMAZING, LaDiva !

    Best dish in the post :)

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  10. Good afternoon LaDiva,

    Looks tasty to me, although we don't do whole fish often. I clean and filet out on the dock.

    Snapper are fun to spearfish for, they're kinda quick so you have to be crafty to get one.

    I would not have thought to use chicken stock, I will have to give that a try.

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  11. Whenever I'm having a crap weasel day, I come over here. Because: A. I know I'll be inspired to make something totally new and yummy to eat. and, B. there will be something to make me laugh my ass off.

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  12. I grew up in Milwaukie, Oregon. Fennel isn't native there but the story my grandmother told was that Italian immigrants planted it in their back yards and it jumped. The stuff we had grew six feet tall and would break any mower that tried to subdue it!

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  13. Hello, and thank you. I've never had this and your post makes me want to try it.
    Sometimes we have rockfish (stripers) baked whole but this is a fresh approach!

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  14. That is me! Afraid of fish! Luv your approach and the dish looks delicious! Thanx for the step by step pictures! (opening pic is hilarious!)

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  15. Thanks, Heff! Always nice when you stop by!

    Karl! Long time no see! The only reason I used chicken broth was because I was out of wine! Either would be fine. I used to love the idea of spear fishing until I realized I had to drag a bloody fish back to shore! YIKES!

    Thanks, Moi, you Assless Wonder! Your comment made my day!

    First Nations, Woodduck and URMomCooks, welcome, dearies! I am always pleased to hear from new peeps and especially if I've inspired you to try something new! Come back real soon, ya hear?!

    Dani, this snapper was so fresh it was actually sweet! LOVED it! Thanks for the swell comments everyone.

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  16. O honey, I am so ashamed to admit it, but I grew up right on the Gulf Coast in a family of devoted, and successful, fishermen and I HATE to buy fish. It just seems wrong.

    I do love fennel however and it's al over the place here in Northern California. I thought it was indigenous.

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  17. Yes, yes, yes!!!!! Couldn't agree more about the whole fish cooking thing and just love these flavour pairings. Don't believe I've ever heard of such a fish, he looks a bit gruesome..., but bet it tastes wonderful.

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  18. Do you save up all the bones and head to make fish stock later?

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  19. PeeNee, where you from, boy?! Just did a bit of research on fennel and apparently it was introduced over 100 years ago, so First Nation's story of Italian immigrants makes sense. It's considered an invasive plant in California!

    Hi Anna! You are one of those spoilt Aussies that has so much choice for fresh seafood, I'm jealous of you! Mmmmmmm bugs!

    Of course, Sham, not a lot of opportunity to make home made seafood stock otherwise. I make stock from prawn shells when I get them too but they don't have as much flavor as if i had the heads.

    Have a great weekend, y'all!

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  20. Thanks so much for your sweet comments on my maple shortbread bars. I couldn't wait to get over here and see your site. I love the way you prepared the whole fish from start to finish the photos were wonderful. Your blog is upbeat and gives a great vibe, I'm very happy to have visited, have a nice weekend:)

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  21. Fish are easy.
    Catch em.
    Filet em.
    Heat peanut oil.
    Dust fish in cornmeal/flour mixture.
    Fry til it floats in a golden brown sorta way.
    Eat.

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  22. La Diva C!!
    LOVED this-s-but would loved a link to southern market too...alas.

    It ain't the whole fish, it's cookin' eyes that bothers me some. But I does cook 'em whole when they's lake caught thangs.

    Gotta go wif' FC at least half the time on this fish question.

    Heff is funny--youse da best dish in the post--no kiddin'!!!

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Tell La Diva ALL about it!