← All recipes · Species guide: Parrotfish
Portugal · Parrotfish

Azorean Oven-Roasted Parrotfish

Veja Assada

Veja, the Azorean parrotfish, is a favorite on São Miguel. Island cooks rub it with red pepper paste, garlic and wine and roast it whole on a bed of potatoes and onions.

  • Prep 20 min + 1 hr marinating
  • Cook 45 min
  • Serves 4
  • Level Easy
Photo: Norio NAKAYAMA · CC BY-SA 2.0
Served with: Portuguese Mixed Salad ↓En Español

Ingredients

Tap each item as you gather it.

For the fish

For the pan

Method

Step by step, the way it is done on the island.

  1. Marinate. Cut 3 slashes on each side of the fish. Mix the pepper pastes, garlic, wine and salt and rub it all over and inside the fish. Tuck in the bay leaves and refrigerate 1 hour.
  2. Start the potatoes. Heat the oven to 400 °F (200 °C). Toss the potatoes, onions and bell pepper with half the olive oil and the salt and spread them in a roasting pan. Roast 20 minutes.
  3. Add the fish. Lay the fish on the potatoes, pour over the leftover marinade and the rest of the olive oil.
  4. Roast. Roast 20–25 minutes, basting once with the pan juices, until the fish is opaque at the bone and the potatoes are tender and golden at the edges.
  5. Serve. Sprinkle with parsley and serve from the pan with a salada mista and bread for the juices.

On the side

The side dish that belongs with it, full recipe included.

Portugal

Portuguese Mixed Salad

Salada Mista

Lettuce, tomato and onion dressed simply with olive oil, vinegar and salt. Every grill house in Portugal puts one on the table next to the fish.

  • Prep 10 min
  • Cook 0 min
  • Serves 4
  • Level Easy

You need

  • 1 head green leaf lettuce, torn
  • 3 ripe tomatoes, in wedges
  • 1 small onion, sliced thin
  • ½ green bell pepper, in strips (optional)
  • ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ½ tsp dried oregano (optional)

How to make it

  1. Prep. Wash and dry the lettuce well. Arrange it on a platter with the tomatoes, onion and pepper on top.
  2. Season. Sprinkle the salt and oregano over the vegetables.
  3. Dress at the table. Just before eating, drizzle with the vinegar and then the olive oil. Toss and serve.

Photo: Prayitno / Thank you for (12 millions +) view from Los Angeles, USA · CC BY 2.0

More ways to cook Parrotfish

Same fish, a different corner of the sea.

Samaná, Dominican RepublicSamaná Fish in Coconut Sauce
Hellshire Beach, JamaicaJamaican Steamed Parrotfish
Sainte-Anne, MartiniqueFrench Antilles Fish Blaff