The branzino is a mild white fish, popular in Italian cuisine and usually roasted whole and served with lemon. Also called European bass, the fish has been showing up on menus around the country and world as chefs and diners enjoy branzino’s sweet, flaky meat.

The first time I had branzino was at a hotel in Hartford, Connecticut. It was served whole, deep fried, crisp on the outside and delicate and flaky on the inside. My husband and I were blown away by the quality and flavor of this fish and decided we would serve it at our restaurant in Chattanooga as well. But we prepared it escoveitch style, which is very popular in Jamaica. It worked well with the onions, Scotch bonnet peppers and the vinegar.

I enjoy Thai flavors and so, in this recipe, I decided to roast the fish using Thai herbs and sauces, with hints of Jamaican flavors.

Recipe

1 whole branzino

1 table spoon dry crushed red chili pepper

1/4 cup fish sauce

1/4 cup soy sauce

1 table spoon brown sugar

1/8 cup fresh squeezed lime juice

1 tsps. fine salt

2 tsps. fresh ground black pepper

2 tsps. all purpose seasoning

3 or 4 stems of fresh Thai basil

1 Scotch bonnet – diced, with or without seeds (optional)

1/2 yellow onion, sliced

3 large garlic gloves, pressed

4 sprigs fresh thyme

2 sprigs fresh thyme, finely chopped

Method

Preheat grill. The rack should be very hot. Make a quick marinade or sauce by whipping the chili pepper, fish sauce, soy sauce, brown sugar and lime juice. You may also put it in a blender for a minute to get some of the pepper flakes blended. Set the sauce aside. Clean and wash branzino.  Pat dry with a paper towel.  Score fish crosswise with a sharp knife – 2 or 3 scores on each side. Scoring your fish allows the herbs and seasoning to permeate throughout it. Season fish inside and out with salt, black pepper and all purpose seasoning. Stuff with basil, Scotch bonnet pepper, garlic and 4 sprigs of thyme and some of the onion slices. Top with remaining onion slices and chopped thyme. Place the fish on a sheet of aluminum foil, big enough to completely wrap the fish. Before wrapping the fish, drizzle the marinade all over it, inside and out. Wrap the fish, leaving small breaks in the foil to allow smoke to penetrate it. Place on hot grill. Cover grill and allow fish to cook for about 45 minutes.

After removing fish from the grill, discard of all herbs used for seasoning. Serve fish immediately with your favorite side dish. I serve this with a side of roasted sweet potatoes wedges. The sweetness of the potatoes really complement the spices on the fish.

Note: You may allow the fish to soak up the spices and marinade before roasting by keeping it completely wrapped in the refrigerator for a couple hours. The result will be worth the wait.