Eileen’s red snapper. PG photo. ©

By Eileen Goldfinger, Food and Garden Editor @Blogfinger

1 2 pound red snapper (gutted and cleaned)

2 sprigs fresh dill

2 sprigs fresh parsley

1 lemon, thinly sliced

3 tablespoons herbed olive oil (Wegmans basting oil)

4 tablespoons Wegmans shallots & thyme finishing butter (substitute margarine with herbs)

4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

salt to taste

black pepper, freshly ground to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Fish:

I bought this beautiful red snapper at Wegmans. They cleaned and gutted it for me; all I had to do was bake it.

In the cavity of the fish, place the dill, parsley, three slices of lemon, 1 tablespoon of herbed butter (or margarine,) and 3 tablespoon of herbed olive oil. Use butcher’s twine to tie the fish closed. Rub a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil on both sides of the fish. Sprinkle both sides of the fish with salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.

Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and add the remaining 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil on the foil. Brush the oil on the entire surface of the foil lined sheet.

Place the fish on the sheet and then in the oven. Bake on one side for 10 minutes and then turn fish over and bake for another 20 minutes. An instant-read thermometer should be inserted into the thick muscle behind the gill.

The fish monger/chef Paul at Wegmans suggested removing the fish from the oven when the temperature on the thermometer reads 138 degrees and then to let it rest out of the oven for 10 minutes. The fish will continue to cook and reach an internal temperature of 145 degrees.

Because I prefer my fish to be well done, I baked it to 148 degrees instead of 138 and then I removed it from the oven.

To serve the fish, gently remove the skin on one side. Use a fish spatula or butter knife to lift the fish off the skeleton and onto a serving plate. When the fish is removed from the first side, lift the bone out of the fish and discard. Use your spatula as above to remove the remainder of the fish without having to turn it over. There might be some small remaining bones.

Sauce:

While the fish is baking, place the remaining herbed butter in a small sauce pan with the juice of the remaining lemon (approximately four slices), salt and pepper to taste. Cook on low heat until the butter melts. Stir.

Ohh Noooo

Drizzle sauce on fish and serve.

Serves 2-3 people.