How does this sound to you? A whole fish baked on a bed of aromatic vegetables? Nutritiously tempting, right? Though we are used to eating it fried or made into a soup, not too many considered baking a fish.

An oven is indeed used to a variety of baking or roasting for the family’s sweet cravings, turkey, chicken and meat, yet in its lifetime, it may never had cooked a fish. If an oven could speak, it would surely welcome a big flounder or a red snapper cooked over sliced vegetables such as celery, carrots, onions, basil and parsley.

Baking our way through choice fishes can actually be more gratifying considering the fat and cholesterol in the cooking oil and red meat we consume. Also, preparing soup is tedious and may require several steps.

Cooking fish may take less time and energy than meat and could likewise be more economical to serve. But still scores more when viewed in the health perspective. It alone provides a good source of phosphorous and traces of niacin. Phosphorous is essential in bones and teeth formation. Niacin on the other hand can help keep the body’s cells healthy. According to studies, eating fish as a source of protein can synthesize the body’s fat and cholesterol. Not only that, having more of it in your diet aids in releasing energy from fats and carbohydrates thereby helping the body store and utilize energy in the body and potentially regulate weight.

A baby snapper is an example that is best used in cooking in the oven with its nice, white, meaty flesh and large bones that are easy to pick out. The size of one fish is ample to serve one person to eat as a main course. Other baking fish include sea bass, silver perch and sea bream.

In preparing a whole fish, you may opt to cook it whole with the head and tail intact. Others who are queasy about how it looks on the dinner table opt to remove both. Depending on the variety, scales may or

may not be retained during cooking. Remember to preheat the oven to the appropriate temperature. Make large incisions in the meat on both sides especially in the middle to ensure that the thickest portion of the fish is evenly cooked. One rule of thumb is to bake a one kilogram whole fish for 40 minutes. When perfectly cooked, the flesh should be firm, flaky, and opaque. Basting the fish with the juices from the bottom of the pan will add more flavour to the dish.

See baked fish recipes @www.gourmetrecipe.com