Whole Roasted Branzino with Lemon and Fennel
A whole fish roasted hot and fast on a screaming pan, stuffed with lemon and fennel, brought to the table bones and all.
- Serves
- 4
- Prep
- 15 min
- Cook
- 25 min
- Written
Method
-
Heat the oven to 450°F with a rimmed sheet pan inside to get hot.
-
Pat the fish dry inside and out, then season the cavities generously with salt and pepper.
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Stuff each cavity with lemon slices, a few fennel slices, the garlic, and the herbs.
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Score the skin two or three times on each side on the diagonal, then rub the fish all over with olive oil and more salt.
-
Scatter the remaining fennel over the hot sheet pan, lay the fish on top, and roast until the skin blisters and the flesh flakes easily at the thickest point, 20 to 25 minutes.
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Squeeze the halved lemon over the fish and scatter with the reserved fennel fronds before serving.
Notes
Heating the pan before the fish goes on is what gets the skin to blister instead of steam — the fish starts crisping the second it hits the metal, no flipping required. Scoring the skin does double duty, letting heat reach the bone faster and giving the oil and salt somewhere to sit.
Branzino is easy to find whole and already scaled at most fish counters, but any small whole fish works the same way — trout, snapper, or red mullet all roast in about the same time. Serve it straight off the pan with the fennel underneath; there’s no sauce here beyond the lemon and the fish’s own juices.