You’ll need:
1 whole fish, scaled and gutted
(firm white fish works best)
1 onion, cut into slices
2 tomatoes, sliced
4 garlic cloves, crushed
Salt to taste
This is exactly the same as fish wrapped in banana leaves, with one major difference: instead of banana leaves, we’re going to use newspaper. Seriously, swaer.
Score the flesh on both sides of the fish with slits about half a centimetre deep and four centimetres apart. Rub with salt to taste and then stuff the belly with the tomatoes, garlic and onion. Wrap the fish in about 10 sheets of newspaper, wetting each layer completely with sea water before adding
the next layer.
Put the whole parcel directly on the coals and cover with more coals. Walk away for 20 to 25 minutes. When you come back, take the parcel out of the fire, remove all the layers of newspaper, and eat the fish with your hands.
For more recipes and outdoor cooking ideas, read Justin Bonello’s Cooked in Africa: A cooking journey through Southern Africa.
