The delicate, small-flaked whiting flesh, so easy to digest, gives its juices to the filling and stays moist in the white wine that lends the dish a sharp edge.
ingredients
serves 4
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 medium onions, peeled and finely chopped
1 clove garlic, peeled and finely chopped
1 cup fresh white breadcrumbs
2 level tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
Finely grated rind of 1 lemon
Freshly ground black pepper
4 whole whiting, each about 8 ounce, scaled and cleaned
Wooden cocktail sticks to secure
5 tablespoons dry white wine
Sprigs of flat-leaf parsley to garnish
method
OVEN: Preheat to 200°C (400°F)
1. Heat the oil in a skillet and cook half the onion in it over a moderate heat for about 5 minutes, until soft. Remove from the heat, mix in the garlic, breadcrumbs, parsley and lemon rind and season with pepper.
2. Stuff each whiting with a quarter of the mixture and seal in the stuffing by threading wooden cocktail sticks through the belly flaps.
3. Scatter half the remaining onion in a large ovenproof dish. Arrange the fish in one layer on top and scatter on the rest of the onion. Pour in the wine, then cover the dish with a lid or foil. Cook in the heated oven for 30 minutes or until the fish flakes easily when tested with a fork. Remove the cocktail sticks and garnish with the sprigs of parsley.
Mashed potatoes, browned in the oven while the fish is cooking, and runner beans go well with the whiting. If you cannot buy whole fish, use fillets and secure them round the stuffing with cocktail sticks.
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