The fish, the whole fish and nothing but the fish: cooking the whole thing

I have noticed, in chatting with people about cooking, a real aversion to cooking a whole fish. Part of it is the "ewwww" factor of seeing something with the head on it, with the eyes. That is something that you just have to get over. The fillet you eat used to have a head attached to it. And, everything that the professionals say is true: whole fish does taste better than the fillets. There is some kind of sweetness thta seems to emanate out of the bones and makes it so much tastier. I'm sure there are many articles and pieces on why a whole fish is better than the fillet or steak, but who cares? Let's just say it is, and move on.

Now, the first thing, of course, is to get over the head attached to the fish. Annalena really cannot help you with this, other than to say: you've seen worse things in your life, and your interaction with the head is going to be very minimal, as you will see.

The next thing that people are confronted with, is not knowing how to buy a whole fish. Well, this is where you need the head to be attached. Look at the eye: is it clear, and unfogged? That's a sign of freshness. As fish age, their eyes almost become covered with a cataract. If the eye is clear, you're in the right direction.

Next, smell it. This, of course, tells you that you should never buy whole fish that is hermetically sealed in plastic. It's not good for the fish, and you can't inspect it. What should you smell?

Nothing. I'm serious. All this talk about "the wonderful smell of fresh fish," or "the breezes of the ocean, " is poppycock. A fresh fish has no smell. If you get a whiff of fish, the beast is beginning to age. A bit of a smell, especially with an oilier fish, like a mackerel or a bluefish, is ok, but if it REALLY smells like cat food put it down, no matter how clear the eyes are.

Now, next fear: I don't know how to clean it. Well, that's why God invented fish mongers. If you are buying a whole fish, the sales person will know how to clean it. Ask. Most will just do it routinely, but some of us do know how to do it and might want some of the innards. For example, monkfish liver is prized by some, so they want it. Annalena says they can have it. She does NOT consider it the "foie gras of the sea." So, you don't have to worry about cleaning or scaling the fish. DO know that, you pay for the fish with the guts attached, for the most part. Some fish mongers will charge you for the cleaned fish, but rest assured that they have raised the price. It's worth it.

What fish should you buy? Well, something you like . Something that does not weigh more than about a pound/pound and a quarter each. This gives you so many options it is unbelievable. Sea bass. Snapper. Bream. (Now, here's a killer "bream" is porgy. But you'll only see the fish advertised as porgy if it's pan fried. If it's baked, they think it's continental and call it bream). Anyway, go to a fish store, look at the various fish, and you'll see how many are really small. Making a whole striped bass or salmon is not that hard, but we'll deal with that at another point in time. Figure that for each person, you need one of these guys (or gals).

When you get them home, wash them. Perhaps rub it all over with lemon juice. You don't have to do it. Preheat your oven to 450, and then get your pan ready. If you have a baking dish that will hold all of your fish comfortably, use it. Spread olive oil over the bottom of the pan. If you don't have a pan big enough, line a cooking sheet with parchment paper. That should handle four fish comfortably.

We're going to bake our fish today with a stuffing: pesto. And we're going to use the pesto that we used for rabbit. Lets make it, or let's use extra from another night. Get a cup of toasted walnuts (350 in the oven for 10 minutes), and put them in a blender . Pulse them a few times. Then slowly add olive oil , with the machine running, until you get a thick paste. Taste it, and correct for salt.

You will only need a tablespoon or so to stuff each fish. Those cavities are small, and you don't want to kill the taste of the fish with too much stuff. Then, get a sharp knife and run two or three deep cuts through the skin, and spoon one or two more spoons of pesto over each one. You do the slashing to make sure that the skin cooks properly and also to let the lovely pesto flavor the meat of the fish.

Get this into the oven, and let it bake for 30 minutes. It sounds like a lot of time, but it's right. When it comes out of the oven: time to deal with things. Be brave. Get some tongs, and grab the fish at the front, around the mouth, and bend back. If the fish is cooked completely, the head will snap at the right place, and you are DONE with it. You can bend the tail up, and it will break as well.

You can serve the fish like this, and let people eat it as they see fit, but if you want to be really "professional" about it, take a soft knife (not a steak knife, the other kind), and use the BACK (the non blade end) and run it along the backbone of the fish. You'll see how easily the meat separates. Then remove that fillet with a paddle, and put it aside. The skeleton will be exposed, and you just pull that away, and your fish is ready.

You should warn your guests that there will be bones. You never get rid of all of them this way and that's ok. In the same way that you might gnaw at a chicken leg bone, or something like that, you're going to do the same thing, sucking at the bones of the fish. They will taste just as good. Some people really enjoy the bones, most of all. Not me.

Make some whole fish today. Impress your friends. It is not hard to do, and if they are not impressed, they are jaded and you should move on.