Fish Baked in Foil with Fennel and Lime
The lime squeezer! Check out the beautiful carving.
The limes in Africa are smaller and more yellow in color, but the squeezer worked just fine with our giant limes.
Adding salt and pepper to a simple marinade of lime juice and olive oil.
A good handful of chopped cilantro goes in too.
The fish (we used a striped bass), cleaned and scaled and then rinsed under cold water, goes into the marinade for a bit while you prep the rest of the ingredients.
Make sure to get the marinade inside the cavity too.
There's some slicing and chopping to be done, but that's about it.
Fennel, red onion and lime are the cornerstones of this dish.
Amanda generously shows me her method for folding together two pieces of foil to create enough surface area for the fish.
She crimps together the edges of the two pieces of foil, folding them over a few times to create a seal, and then spreads them open like pages of a book.
First, you arrange half of the sliced veggies and lime in layers on the foil.
Then you stuff the fish with cubed butter, mustard, and the chopped fennel and onion.
Here, I'm trying not arrange the fish without spilling the vegetables from the cavity.
The rest of the sliced fennel, onion and lime go on top, snugly encasing the fish.
Nothing goes to waste: the leftover marinade goes over the top.
Make an airtight pouch so that the steam doesn't escape while the fish is baking -- this will keep the meat beautifully tender and moist.
After about 45 minutes, the fish is cooked, and the vegetables have softened and mellowed.
Some of you have requested some more photos of my recent trip to Africa -- specifically, of the animals! Keep clicking to see a few of the highlights; go here to see the rest...
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Author Notes: Pretty much everything my husband and I consumed at Kiwayu Safari Village -- a lovely eco-resort right on the Indian Ocean in Kenya -- involved lime in some way: from the virgin Dawa (lime juice mixed with water and a little sugar) we were offered as a refreshment when we first arrived (welcome drinks seem to be standard in East Africa, and I'll admit I kind of wish we had them here), to the wedges of lime served alongside fresh octopus salad or dressed crab at lunch, to the paper-thin slices of lime layered on top of the beautiful whole baked fish presented to us at the dinner table one night. This is an adaptation of the recipe, given to me by the chef at Kiwayu, for the whole baked fish with lime -- in addition to the lime slices that get laid on top of the fish, the fish gets bathed in a delicate marinade of lime juice, olive oil and cilantro before baking. - merrill
Serves 4 to 6
- 1 medium whole fish, about 2 1/2 pounds (I used striped bass), cleaned and scaled
- 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup roughly chopped cilantro
- Salt
- 1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
- 1 fennel bulb
- 1 large red onion
- 1 large lime, very thinly sliced
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, in small chunks
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- Heat the oven to 325 degrees F. Rinse the fish under cold water and dry well with paper towels.
- In a large, wide bowl, whisk together the lime juice, olive oil, cilantro, a few generous pinches of salt and the pepper. Add the fish to the marinade, turning to coat and getting some inside the cavity. Set aside for about 10 minutes while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
- Halve the fennel bulb and thinly slice one half. Cut the other half into 1/8-inch dice. Do the same with the onion.
- Take two pieces of aluminum foil and fold them together so that they form big piece (see photo below). Lay the foil shiny-side down on a large, rimmed baking sheet. Arrange half of the sliced red onion, sliced fennel and lime along the middle of the foil, over an area roughly the same size as the fish.
- Remove the fish from the marinade and slather the cavity with the mustard. Then scatter the butter chunks and the chopped onion and fennel inside the cavity, filling it just enough that it looks plump, without the vegetables spilling out all over the place.
- Lay the fish gently on top of the sliced vegetables, and then arrange the rest of them on top of the fish, finishing with a row of lime slices. Start to fold up the foil so that liquid won't seep out the sides, and then drizzle the marinade over the top of the fish. Fold and crease the foil into a neat package, leaving a little space between it and the fish. Put the fish (on the baking sheet) in the oven and bake for 45 minutes to an hour, until the fish is cooked through. Serve with boiled herbed potatoes and a salad.
- This recipe is a Community Pick!
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