Look what the Easter-Bunny brought...

Stuffed Whitefish with Blood Orange and Thyme

Got yer fish?

LET'S GO!

Begin by chopping: 

1/2 of a red bell pepper

1/2 of a yellow or white onion

5 cloves of garlic

Toss the three components together with a touch of olive oil, and a bit of salt and pepper.

Next, slice a blood orange into discs about 1/4 cm. each.

I'd actually recommend 2 blood oranges, I didn't have quite enough.

Next, spread out a sheet of parchment paper that's about 1.5x the length of your fish (from head to tail) and 3x the height of it (from fin to fin).

Arrange some blood orange slices on the parchment paper to equal the length of the fish.

(See, I told I didn't have enough.  I used some lemon, too, to fill the gaps.)

Arrange about 8 sprigs of thyme across the top of the oranges.

Hello, Darlin'.

At the fish market (or, in my case, Whole Foods), ask them to scale and gut the fish.

It'll still have the bones, but that's okay...it'll put some hair on yer chest.

I'm no master at whole fish, so if there is a way for them to cut the bones out while leaving the rest of the fish intact, by all means...

Score le poisson on both sides. This way, it'll absorb the flavors.

And quit being such a whiny bitch about it.

Cover all sides (including the middle) with salt, pepper, and olive oil

Unless you have a freakishly sharp knife, I would also recommend having the person at the fish market chop on the head and tail. Trust me, I tried.  It's not easy.

It's looking at you, you know.

Place the fish open on top of the oranges and thyme you arranged on the parchment paper. 

Fill with half of the pepper/onion/garlic mix, then cover with a few more slices of orange and more thyme. 

Put the rest of the pepper/onion/garlic on top of the oranges and thyme, and give it a teensy bit more olive oil if you feel so inclined...

Close der'fish and top with more orange and thyme. 

Save some oranges for garnish, if you have some to spare.

Aww, man. Jesus Christ has risen.

Wrap it up real tight like a burrito.

Roll it, fold the sizes, you know how, right?

Bake at 425 degrees.

My fish was 3 pounds before I chopped off the head and tail, and it took about 40 minutes to cook.  Just start to check every 5 minutes or so once it's been in the oven around 30 minutes.

It will look white and flaky--like this--when it's done. 

"Mother of God."

-Thorny, Super Troopers

Here's where the extra orange slices will come in. Make a pretty garnish.

(I had to use the ones that already went through the oven. They were all limp-dicked and ugly.)

To serve: open the fish and spoon out the peppers and onions.

Remove the thyme and blood oranges, as well.

From the top of the spine, gently pull backbone and ribs out.  You should get most of it out in one pull.  If not, just look out for the teeny ribs as you're eating.

Serve the stuffing on top of the fish with a few leaves of thyme. 

Squeeze some orange over the whole thing if you please!

Easter Dinner, 2009!