Serves: 6
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 60-70 minutes
Ingredients
2 red onions, cut into wedges
2 fennel bulbs, cut into wedges
2 red peppers, deseed and cut into wedges
4 large ripe tomatoes, quartered
2 cloves garlic, quartered
3 tablespoons virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon lightly crushed fennel or coriander seeds
Salt and black pepper
2 kg whole fish, trimmed, scaled and cleaned
200 ml dry white wine
4 tablespoons Pernod, optional
Method
Preheat the oven to 230 degress Celcius. Put all the vegetables in a large baking dish. Mix in the oil and crushed seeds and season to taste. Cover and bake for 30 minutes, turning the vegetables over a few times. Score the fish in two or three places on each side with a sharp knife, and sprinkle inside and out with salt and pepper. Place the fish on top of the vegetables, pour over the wine and Pernod, if using, and cover tightly with foil. Reduce the oven temperature to 190 degrees Celcius and bake for 30-40 minutes until the flesh flakes easily when tested with a fork.
