Mediterranean Red Snapper with Roasted Tomato Saffron Pilaf
It seems we’re getting another month of summer here in DC, with days in the 90s and an abundance of tomatoes in the garden, alongside fresh herbs and chilies. This delicate dinner is the kind you make with the glut of tomatoes September welcomes. You marry them with the herbs growing alongside them and eat it all while it’s still light outside.
Cherry tomatoes in every color are roasted until blistered and collapsing, then added to basmati rice cooked with red onion, lots of garlic, vegetable stock and saffron threads. The tomatoes melt into the rice as it cooks, adding sweetness and acidity, while toasted almonds scattered over the top add crunch. The red snapper is crisped skin-side down in olive oil, then finished in the oven with butter and parsley and plenty of fresh lemon juice.
It’s dainty and delicate, with all the reddish-orange hues of a late-summer sunset.
Pairs beautifully with a lemony green salad.
Organic Ingredients, serves 4-6
For the saffron tomato rice
3 pints cherry tomatoes, halved
Extra-virgin olive oil
Sea salt, to taste
1 red onion, finely diced
5 garlic cloves, crushed in a pestle and mortar
2 cups basmati rice, washed well
½ tsp. saffron threads
1 tsp. Paprika
¼ tsp. Cayenne Pepper
4 cups vegetable stock
½–¾ cup sliced almonds, toasted stove top in a few drops of olive oil
For the red snapper
4 skin-on red snapper fillets, about 10 oz each (2.5lbs total)
Extra-virgin olive oil
Sea salt
Handful of fresh flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
2Tbsps. Butter
1 lemon, plus more for serving
Method
Grind and bloom Saffron threads in hot water or ice water before using.
Heat the oven to 425°F / 220°C.
Spread the cherry tomatoes over a large baking sheet. Drizzle generously with olive oil, season with salt and roast for about 20-25 minutes, until blistered, juicy and beginning to caramelize. Set aside.
While the tomatoes are roasting, heat a generous splash of olive oil in a wide, heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat. Add the red onion, season with salt and sauté until softened and translucent. Add the garlic, paprika and cayenne and cook for another minute or so, just until fragrant.
Add the washed and well-drained basmati rice and stir to coat it in the onion, garlic and olive oil.
Add the vegetable stock and Saffron.
Bring to a boil and let it bubble for 2 minutes. Add the roasted cherry tomatoes along with all of their juices, gently distributing them through the rice.
Cover, reduce the heat to low and cook for 15 minutes.
Give the rice one gentle stir, remove it from the heat and cover again for another 1–2 minutes. Fluff gently before serving and scatter toasted Almonds on top.
For the red snapper
Heat the oven to 400°F.
Pat the red snapper fillets dry and season well with salt. Heat a generous drizzle of olive oil in a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot, add the snapper skin-side down and cook for 3–4 minutes, without moving it, until the skin is golden and crisp.
Add the butter and parsley to the pan, allowing the butter to melt around the fish. Transfer the skillet to the oven and roast for 10 minutes, or until the snapper is just cooked through and flakes easily.
Remove from the oven and finish with a generous squeeze of fresh lemon juice just before serving.
Notes
Nestle a red chili among the cherry tomatoes before roasting for an extra layer of flavor and heat, then add it to the rice along with the roasted tomatoes. If everyone at your table can handle the heat, leave the seeds in; for a milder kick, remove them before roasting.
Summer, 2026
Cherry tomatoes in every color are roasted until blistered and collapsing - each color brings it’s own subtle flavor
Dainty and delicate, with all the reddish-orange hues of a late-summer sunset.
“The delicious sting of smoke, sea salt and lemons.” Nigel Slater
This delicate dinner is the kind you make with the glut of tomatoes September welcomes. You marry them with the herbs growing alongside them and eat it all while it’s still light outside.