Whole Stuffed Yellowtail Snapper with Blood Oranges and Harvested Juniper Leaves

I found out last year that the rental I live in has a juniper tree growing in the yard. It needed to be cut back from the house so I looked into all the possibilities of what I could do with the various components. From branches to leaves and berries, they can each be used in so many ways. I used some fresh while drying and storing the rest. With this dish, I decided to bring the juniper leaves back out to not only stuff the fish but infuse the essence into other vegetables.

It was fish day at the local market and I showed up early, picking up a salmon head and whole yellowtail snapper. I like to cook fish whole because that’s what I’ve been used to since childhood. You also get less waste this way and more of my favorite part – the dark meat of the tail. In a fillet, the focus is on the central body of the fish where meat is more dense but that’s like the white meat of chicken (my personal opinion).

I had some blood oranges laying around and lately I’ve been thinking of that one time I grilled King Crab legs with oranges.. *sigh so delish* so I thought I’d do something similar with fish. This literally took me less than an hour to prep and cook, including scaling the fish (it was already gutted). I smeared olive oil on the baking sheet, laid down sliced blood oranges – while reserving some for stuffing. Then oiled, salt and peppered the fish; placing it on top of the blood oranges. Next, I roughly prepped radishes and red cabbage, sprinkling them around the fish for a “rustic” style. Crushed and chopped garlic with sliced ginger and yellow onions get stuffed into and scattered around the fish. Juniper leaves are sprinkled around and inserted in the belly with the reserved blood orange slices. A dashing of salt and pepper on the veggies, then everything is covered in foil and put in the oven at 375° for 30 minutes. The foil is then removed and oven turned to high broil for 5 minutes.

This served with a rice blend I was cooking in a rice cooker at the same time, while I prepped the fish. My mom taught me to always start the rice first and every time I don’t, I end up regretting it because my food is getting cold while waiting on the rice to finish. Broiling the fish helps crisp the skin and adds char to veggies (if you like it that way). You can skip that step if you prefer it less crispy or just can’t wait to eat it up! Bon appetit!