Receta Baked perch with herb stuffing

Immerse the whole perch in a sink of cold water and remove any remaining scales. With scissors or a sharp knife remove any blood or dark skin from the belly cavity of the fish and trim the fins. Rinse the fish and pat dry with paper towels. Cut three slashes, each 1 cm deep, into the thickest part of the fish on both sides. Brush them with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

To make the herb stuffing, sauté onion in butter until soft and translucent. Remove from the heat and transfer to a mixing bowl. Add the lemon rind, parsley, thyme leaves, breadcrumbs, salt and pepper. Mix well to combine the stuffing.

Loosely fill fish cavity with the stuffing. Close the cavity and secure with wooden toothpicks.

Thinly grease with some olive oil a shallow ovenproof dish large enough to contain the fish. Place the fish in the prepared dish and cover tightly with two sheets of foil. Bake in the oven at 180°C for 35 minutes, or until the fish is cooked when tested at the thickest part – the flesh should be opaque and flake easily when tested with a fork.

Meanwhile add olive oil and spice filling to the potatoes, stir so that each potato slices is covered with a mixture.

Add the potatoes to the fish 20 minutes before end of baking (or as needed to fully bake the potatoes).

Before serving, remove the toothpicks from the fish, cut it into equal slices and serve with baked potatoes and green salad.