Roasted Trout with Thyme

From The Naked Chef by Jamie Oliver
serves 4

four 1 lb trout, scaled and gutted
2 good handfuls of fresh thyme
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 Tb olive oil
2 lemons
4 bay leaves, fresh if possible

Preheat your oven to 475. Wash the trout inside and out and pat dry with paper towels. Using a mortar and pestle, smash up the thyme with 1 tea of salt, some pepper and the olive oil (or very finely chop). Rub this mixture into the trout; covering the belly cavity and the skin.

Cut the lemons in half and remove the ends so they have a flat edge. With the point of a knife, make an incision into the flesh of each lemon half and stick a bay leaf into it. Place the trout and lemons on a roasting tray and bake, allowing roughly 10 minutes. To check that the trout is cooked properly, just go to the thickest part of the trout and try to pull the meat away from the bone. If it pulls away easily it is cooked, and if it doesn't put it back into the oven for a couple more minutes. By the time the trout has finished cooking the skin should be crispy. The roasted lemons should be beautifully sweet and slightly jammy in flavor - this is such a nice way to cook the lemons as teh bay also infuses them with flavor.

Serve the trout with the lemon, which you can squeeze on to the fish. I like to serve this with some pan-friend potatoes and a crisp green salad.