Oven-roasted Filet of Grouper

This oven-roasted filet of grouper recipe is one of our favorite ways of cooking fish in the oven. The topping of thinly sliced onions and lemons keeps the fish from drying out, plus they add a lot of flavor.



While I was in Cairo on my house-hunting trip, one of the first things I asked about is the availability of seafood, particularly fish. Seafood probably features on the house menu at least once a week in some form: Lemon sole, whole Red Snapper, Prawns, Grouper, Salmon steaks. Pan-fried, grilled, oven-roasted, étouffée or courtbouillon.

I figured we are only about three hours from Alexandria and the Mediterranean Sea so there should be seafood in abundance here, possibly even a fish market.It seems I was wrong.Fortunately my nearby Carrefour has a newly renovated, well-stocked seafood department but that’s the only option I know of so far.

Anyone from Cairo out there reading who would like to set me straight, please, please do. Last week we had Grouper – oven-roasted and topped with an abundance of sliced onions and lemons that kept it moist.Any fish would do here so use what you have.

Ingredients
800g or 1 3/4lb fish filet
2 small onions
1 large lemon
Sea salt
Black pepper
Olive oil
3 generous tablespoons of butter

Method Preheat the oven to 200C or 400F.Cut all the scraggly bits off of your filet and make sure all bones have been removed. Slice your onions and your lemon very thinly.Using your hands, mix the two together and make sure to pick out any lemon seeds.

Drizzle a little olive oil in the bottom of your baking tray and sprinkle a fish-sized area with sea salt and a good few grinds of black pepper.

Lay the fish in the baking tray and sprinkle the top with sea salt and black pepper.

Heap the fish with the lemon and onion slices.  Balance the butter on top and drizzle liberally with olive oil.

Roast in the preheated oven for 20-30 minutes, depending on the thickness of your fish.

Enjoy!

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