VIDEO: Whole Herb-Roasted Rockfish

Recipe provided by:
Matt Bond - Monterey Bay Spear fisherman

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California native, Matt Bond, has been spearfishing for nearly 40 years. When he’s not fishing out of Monterey or Santa Cruz, he can be found at home in San Jose tending to his large organic garden, cooking up a storm, or running his financial planning business. You can find more of Matt’s recipes and photos of spearfishing on his Instagram feed.

Prep Time: 1 Hour

Serves: 6-8 people

This is a classic fish preparation from France. It is simple, adaptable to just about anything from the sea, and delicious. It can be adapted for the barbecue by simply wrapping the ingredients in foil and placing on the grill. I like to serve this over rice, roasted potatoes, or with crusty grilled bread and accompanied by a fresh salad or sautéed greens like mustard or bok choy.

Vermillion are the most sought-after rockfish fish by spearfishers on California’s central and northern coast. They are very abundant and sustainably managed, but generally frequent deeper water. There are a few spots where they come in shallow enough for freediving.

Preparation

Preheat oven to 425F

Pat the fish dry and score both sides, almost to the back bone, several times (scoring the fish means slashing across the thickest part of the flesh with a knife).

Liberally salt and pepper the fish.

Place 75% of the vegetables, olives and capers, and herbs in the bottom of a large pan.

Salt and pepper liberally.

Put half of the thin lemon slices down, too.

Drizzle with olive oil.

Stuff the remaining 25% of ingredients into the cavity of the fish but reserve a few lemon slices.

Add pats of butter around the pan.

Lay fish on top of veg and butter.

Place pats of butter on the fish.

Top fish with a few thin lemon slices.

Pour wine into the pan and on top of the fish.

Drizzle fish with olive oil.

Place it in the oven.

A 5-pound fish should take about 45 minutes to finish (about 10 minutes a pound). Check at about 20 minutes in and baste it. It is done when the pectoral fin would easily pull out. You want to make sure the meat is slightly underdone near the center. Let it sit for 10 minutes, at room temp, before serving. This will allow it to finish cooking to perfect temp.

Ingredients

One whole fish, about five pounds, gilled, gutted and scaled. It is perfectly fine to use fillet or steak too.

5 large ripe tomatoes sliced

1 head of garlic peeled and sliced

1 small white onion chopped

1 rib of celery sliced

1 sweet bell pepper chopped

1/2 cup whole pitted black olives like nicoise or kalamata

1/2 cup capers

1 medium lemon

1/2 cup each fresh basil, parsley, tarragon. Stems removed.

2 tablespoons fresh thyme (leaves removed from stem)

1/2 bottle of dry white wine.

1/2 stick butter slices into 1/4” thick pats.

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil.

Salt and pepper