Food is so central to most of our lives, sustaining and emotive and there in good times and bad.  Creating and sharing food has been so central to my life and a link I have always felt I shared with my maternal half Italian grandmother, who sadly died when I was a todder.  I am told she was a wonderful cook.  So this weekend for this great religious feast of Easter we have Freddy the fish - a small whole snapper for just the two us served simply with salads.



 




 

Freddy the fish at the start

 

 



Baked snapper with tomatoes and chat potatoes

 

Ingredients:

 

• Whole snapper
• 2 cups chopped fresh tomatoes
• 4 stalks celery chopped
• 2 tsp sugar
• 1 onion sliced
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 cup water
• Half a lemon sliced
• Butter and flour to make roux
• Parsley



 

Method:

 

1. clean and scale fish
2. place fish in shallow greased baking dish with lemon in the cavity surrounded by chats
3. put tomato, celery, sugar, onion, paprika and water in a saucepan and cook for 15 minutes
4. melt butter in a pot and add flour to make a roux.  Add some water – 50- 100ml, then gradually add tomato mixture and cook for a further 10 minutes until thickened
5. pour tomato mixture over fish and bake at 170^oC for 45 -60 minutes
6. garnish with parsley and serve with salad