Oven-baked Fish

Here is another fish recipe from me to you and this time it's oven baked tilapia fish. Oven baked fish is healthier than frying and it comes out delicious and trouble free as you don't have to do much. This recipe is for whole baked fish but you can cut up into pieces if you'd prefer. I bake fish wrapped in foil or leaves because it locks in moisture and if you especially wrap in banana leaves the Asian style or our very own moin moin leaves (Thaumatococcus daniellii) , it gives it that extra special flavor. So people, if you have moin moin or banana leaves use it over foil in baking fish.

Preparation time : 45 minutes

Cooking time: 1 hour

INGREDIENTS (Serves 2 based on 1 whole fish per person)

2 whole Tilapia fish

1 tablespoon curry powder

1 teaspoon thyme

1 teaspoon coriander (optional)

1 onion

1-3 scotch bonnet/ habanero (ata rodo)

1 fresh tomato

1 bell pepper (tatashe)

2 cloves of garlic

1 maggi cube

1 tablespoon suya pepper or ground cayenne pepper

Salt

1 teaspoon lemon juice ( optional)

3 tablespoon Sunflower or Vegetable oil

Foil, banana leaves or moin moin leaves.

DIRECTIONS

1) Prepare the fish by descaling, gutting and cleaning. Pat the fish dry and make 2-3 diagonal gashes/slashes on the fish depending on the size of the fish.

2) In a food processor, blend the onion, garlic, scotch bonnet, red pepper and tomato. Mix into the blended mixture curry powder, thyme, coriander, maggi, lemon juice, salt and sunflower oil.

3) Place the foil, moin moin leaves or banana leaves on a baking tray, place the fish on it and marinate the fish in the pepper/spices mixture taking care all parts of the fish are covered and stuff some of the sauce inside the fish. Sprinkle the suya pepper all over the fish.

4) Enclose the fish in moin moin leaf or foil and secure with a string or if your leaves are big enough to hold you can do without strings like I did in the picture below. Leave  to absorb flavour for 15-30minutes.

5) Pre heat oven at 180 degrees centigrade for 5 minutes and bake fish for 40 minutes or till fish is cooked.

6) Open the leaves, leaving the fish exposed and bake on higher temperature for 5-10 minutes for a brown crispy top finish. Turn the fish other side up and repeat process.

Oven baked fish/ grilled fish is ready.

 

 

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