Ingredients
• 4 small whole fish (such as snapper or red mullet), cleaned
• 2 limes, cut into wedges
Jerk marinade
• 1 tablespoon allspice berries
• 1 tablespoon whole black peppercorns
• 2 bay leaves
• Pinch ground cloves
• 2 teaspoons brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 tablespoon thyme leaves
• Few coriander sprigs, chopped
• 2 scotch bonnet chillies (see note), finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 3cm piece ginger, finely chopped
• 2 spring onions, thinly sliced
• Finely grated zest of 1 lime
• Olive oil
• 2 tablespoons dark rum (optional)
Corn salsa
• 3 corn cobs, husks removed
• 1 mango, chopped
• 4 spring onions, thinly sliced
• 1/2 bunch coriander, chopped
• 2 tomatoes, chopped
• Finely grated zest and juice of 2 limes
Method
1. Place fish in a shallow baking dish, score each 3 times with a sharp knife and set aside.
2. For the marinade, pound the allspice berries, peppercorns and bay leaves in a mortar and pestle until fine. Mix in the cloves, sugar and honey, add the herbs, chilli, garlic and ginger, then bash it all together to combine.
3. Tip into a jug, add the chopped green tops of the spring onions, the lime zest, a drizzle of oil, a pinch of salt and the rum, if using. Mix well.
4. Pour the marinade over the fish and massage it in. (It's a good idea to wear rubber gloves for this!) Leave in the fridge to marinate for at least 1 hour.
5. Meanwhile, prepare the salsa. Heat a chargrill pan until searing hot, then cook corn, turning, for 5–10 minutes, until the corn is evenly charred. Set aside until cool enough to handle, then carefully remove the kernels from the cob with a sharp knife.
6. Add the kernels to a serving bowl with the mango, spring onion, coriander and tomato. Season to taste, add the lime zest and juice and a little olive oil, then toss to combine.
7. Preheat the oven to 220C. Bake the fish for 15–20 minutes until the skin is slightly charred and flesh is flaky and cooked through.
8. Serve the fish whole with salsa and lime wedges for squeezing over.
