Pesce, Sicilian style

It's been a long time since we lived in Sicily, but one of our fond gastronomical memories includes whole roasted fish. We like to re-create it (as best we can) every once in a while. Of course, nothing beats our favorite restaurant in Brucoli with the fabulous mussels and clams, the garlic bread, the grilled fresh fish and huge prawns...I'm salivating, just thinking about it. Here is my version of our Italian fish dinner.

First, I buy a fresh fish (sea bass is usually our "go-to fish") and have them clean it, but leave it whole. We have a great fish stand (err, trailer, here on base). I stuff the insides with parsley, lemon, garlic, salt and pepper. I drizzle the outside with olive oil, salt and pepper and for presentation, I like the lemon slices. I then wrap it in the aluminum foil, place it on a cookie sheet and bake at 350-400 degrees for approx 20 min.You'll know when it's done when the fish flakes easily with a fork and the eyes look like they have a terrible case of glaucoma. I serve it with a slurry of lemon juice, olive oil and fresh parsley drizzled on top.The finished plate. I like to serve it with roasted vegetables (broccoli, carrots, zucchini, purple sweet potatoes, regular potatoes, garlic and olive oil) and bread.

It's even a hit with the kids.