We already know Tamron's second favorite place at home is her kitchen (first is her closet).
But now she is overcoming one of her biggest fears in the kitchen: cooking a whole fish.
She enlisted the help of Food and Wine's Justin Chapple to show her how to make this tasty fish recipe.
Pimentón-roasted red snapper with herb salad
Active time: 40 minutes
Total time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Servings:
Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 teaspoons pimentón de la Vera (sweet smoked Spanish paprika)
- 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest, plus 1/2 lemon, sliced
- 6 cups kosher salt (30 ounces), plus more for seasoning
- 3 large egg whites, beaten
- 1 two-pound whole red snapper, cleaned
- Ground black pepper
- 3 large bay leaves
- 5 medium celery ribs, thinly sliced on the diagonal
- 1 cup celery leaves
- 1 cup parsley leaves
- 1/2 cup tarragon leaves
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. In a small bowl, whisk 3 tablespoons of the olive oil with the pimentón and lemon zest. In a large bowl, mix the kosher salt with the egg whites and 1/2 cup of water until it resembles moist sand.
Spread a 1/4-inch-thick layer of the salt mixture in the center of a large rimmed baking sheet. Season the fish inside and out with black pepper and brush all over with the pimentón oil. Stuff the cavity with the lemon slices and bay leaves and lay the snapper on the salt. Mound the remaining salt mixture on top, lightly packing it to completely cover the fish.
Bake the fish for about 30 minutes, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the fish through the salt registers 135 degrees. Remove from the oven and let stand for 10 minutes. Crack the salt crust and discard it. Brush off any excess salt and transfer the fish to a platter.
In a large bowl, toss the celery with the celery leaves, parsley, tarragon, lemon juice and the remaining olive oil. Season the salad with salt and pepper and serve alongside the fish.