One-Pan Baked Fish Over Fennel and Sweet Potatoes

There are nights in elimination when the kindest thing is a single pan. You build it once, slide it in the oven, and let the heat do the rest. This is that meal: tender white fish over soft fennel and Japanese sweet potatoes, brightened with lemon and thyme. It carries you through dinner without asking much of an already-tired body that is working to calm an autoimmune condition toward remission.

White fish is a lean source of protein and provides omega-3 fatty acids, which are involved in regulating the body's inflammatory response. The sweet potatoes are a source of vitamin A, and the lemon adds vitamin C, both of which support the cells that line and repair the gut. Fennel bulb, the rounded base and not the seed, brings a gentle anise sweetness as it softens, and it is easy on digestion.

A whole fish gave its body for this plate. Lay the fillets over the vegetables with some care, slip lemon slices between them, and scatter the parsley so it looks like spring on the pan. Sit down, let your breath settle, and eat slowly enough to taste it.

Ingredients

• 1 large bulb fennel, sliced
• 1 lb Japanese sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 3 large cloves garlic, crushed
• 3 TBSP olive oil
• 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp fresh or dried thyme
• 1 lb white fish fillets
• 1 lemon, sliced
• 1/4 cup parsley, divided

Method

Heat the oven to around 400 F.

In a bowl, whisk the olive oil, lemon juice, crushed garlic, salt, and thyme into a marinade.

Spread the cubed sweet potatoes and sliced fennel on a sheet pan or in a baking dish. Pour over about two-thirds of the marinade and toss to coat. Roast for roughly 20 to 25 minutes, until the sweet potatoes are beginning to soften and the fennel is going golden at the edges.

Pull the pan out and nestle the fish fillets on top of the vegetables. Brush or spoon the rest of the marinade over the fish. Lay lemon slices over and around the fillets and scatter half the parsley.

Return to the oven and bake for roughly 12 to 18 minutes, until the fish flakes easily with a fork and is opaque through the center. Thicker fillets take longer.

Finish with the remaining fresh parsley and serve warm.

*Adapted from healmedelicious.com*

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*Provenance: source-derived (re-grounded). Method rebuilt in ARM's own words from the ingredient list in /Users/Christopher/Documents/Claude/01-Projects/ARM/aip-source-archives/heal-me-delicious/baked-fish-with-fennel-and-sweet-potatoes.md (healmedelicious.com, Nicole Charles). Ingredient quantities used as factual reference. Introduction and health framing written fresh from ARM's food-as-medicine framework. No third-party method text reproduced. Oven temperature, roast and bake times, and servings are estimated and flagged for kitchen testing. Recipe uses fennel bulb only, which is AIP Core compliant.*