A whole fish, cooked and served as is, is very normal in France. I love eating fish whole, as you don’t waste anything — the skin is delicious. Flounder is a great fish — an abundant, sustainable species, they require no preparation (no scaling or gutting) and one fish is the perfect portion-size per person.
Ingredients
1 | Lemon |
4 | Whole flounders, medium size (Main) |
1 Tbsp | Thyme leaves, chopped |
Ratatouille
2 cloves | Garlic, minced |
2 Tbsp | Oil |
½ | Baby onions, finely chopped |
½ | Eggplants, or one small eggplant, cut into small dice |
1 punnet | Cherry tomatoes |
1 | Red capsicum, cut into small dice |
2 | Courgettes, cut into small dice |
2 tsp | White wine vinegar, (or other similar) |
1 handful | Basil leaves, torn |
Directions
- Heat oven to 200C.
- Place each flounder on a large rectangle of tinfoil. Squeeze over lemon juice, drizzle with a little olive oil or dot with butter, and sprinkle over a pinch of thyme leaves.
- Fold tinfoil up to completely cover the fish and form tight packages. Bake for 15 minutes until fish is just cooked.
- To make the ratatouille, heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a frying pan and saute garlic and onion until soft.
- Add eggplant and remaining olive oil and continue to cook a further 5 minutes until eggplant is coated in olive oil and cooked through.
- Add tomatoes, capsicum, courgettes, vinegar, the remaining thyme and a splash of water. Cover and cook on low heat for 10 minutes.
- Season to taste with salt and pepper and toss with basil leaves and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.
- Serve one whole fish per plate/person, topped with the ratatouille.