# Smelt Tray Bake with Cherry Tomatoes, Spring Onions, Balsamic Green Beans and Parsnip Fries > Small smelt roast with sweet cherry tomatoes and spring onions, their juices making a light sauce for the fish. A few drops of aged balsamic sharpen the roasted green beans, while golden parsnip fries bring sweet, browned edges to this summer tray-bake supper. - URL: https://www.chezjk.com/recipes/smelt-tray-bake-with-cherry-tomatoes-spring-onions-roasted-green-beans-12-yr-bal - Author: Jonathan Katzman - Cooked and photographed: 2024-07-01 - Recipe updated: 2026-10-23 - Serves: 4 servings - Tags: gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, pescatarian ![Smelt Tray Bake with Cherry Tomatoes, Spring Onions, Balsamic Green Beans and Parsnip Fries](https://www.chezjk.com/api/images?path=9e5d6860-dd86-455e-b57b-e352c363fc57%2Fdcb0a391da9fbe57.jpg) ## Smelt Tray Bake with Cherry Tomatoes and Spring Onions Giving the tomatoes and onions a head start lets them soften without overcooking the small fish. A spacious tray keeps the smelt roasting rather than steaming in tomato juices. ### Ingredients - 2 1/2 lb small whole smelt, cleaned and thawed, heads and tails retained if desired - 1 pint mixed red and yellow cherry tomatoes - 6 spring onions, trimmed, thick bulbs halved lengthwise and greens cut into 3-inch lengths - 2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced - 3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, divided - 3/4 tsp fine sea salt, divided, plus more to taste - 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper - 1 lemon, half for juice and half cut into wedges - 1/4 cup roughly chopped flat-leaf parsley ### Instructions 1. If frozen, thaw the smelt overnight in the refrigerator in a covered container. Confirm they are gutted, then pat thoroughly dry, including the cavities. 2. Heat the oven to 425°F. Halve the larger cherry tomatoes and leave the small ones whole. 3. On a large rimmed sheet pan, toss the tomatoes, spring onion bulbs and garlic with 2 tablespoons olive oil and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Spread out and roast for 10 minutes, until the tomatoes begin to wrinkle. 4. Toss the smelt with the remaining tablespoon olive oil, remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and the pepper. Add to the tray in a single layer, distributing the vegetables between the fish rather than covering them. Add the spring onion greens. 5. Roast for 10–15 minutes, checking small fish early, until the skin is lightly golden and the flesh is opaque and separates easily from the backbone. The thickest flesh should reach 145°F; insert a thin probe from the side without touching bone. 6. Squeeze the lemon half lightly over the tray and scatter with parsley. Spoon the tomato and onion juices over the fish and serve with the lemon wedges. ### Notes - Use a second pan if necessary rather than overlapping the fish. - Small smelt bones may be edible, but their texture varies with size. Diners can lift the flesh from the backbone and leave the heads and larger bones. ## Roasted Green Beans with 12-Year Balsamic Dry beans and a hot pan produce blistered patches while keeping the centers tender. Aged balsamic goes on after roasting so its sweetness stays rounded rather than scorching. ### Ingredients - 1 lb green beans, stem ends trimmed - 1 1/2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil - 1/2 tsp fine sea salt - 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper - 2 tsp 12-year aged balsamic vinegar, plus a little more to taste ### Instructions 1. Heat the oven to 425°F. Dry the beans thoroughly and toss with the olive oil, salt and pepper on a rimmed sheet pan. 2. Spread into a single layer and roast for 15–20 minutes, turning once, until blistered in places and tender with a little bite. 3. Transfer to a serving dish and drizzle with the aged balsamic. Toss lightly or leave some visible droplets over the beans. Taste before adding more. ### Notes - Use aged balsamic vinegar rather than a sweetened balsamic glaze; its concentrated flavor needs only a small drizzle. ## Roasted Parsnip Fries Long, evenly sized wedges give the parsnips enough time to become tender inside while their natural sugars brown against the hot pan. ### Ingredients - 1 1/2 lb parsnips, peeled and trimmed - 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil - 1/2 tsp fine sea salt, plus more to finish - 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper ### Instructions 1. Heat the oven to 425°F. Cut the parsnips into long fries or narrow wedges about 1/2 inch thick. Remove any tough, woody core from large parsnips. 2. Toss with the olive oil, salt and pepper. Spread on a large rimmed sheet pan with a cut surface against the metal and space between the pieces. 3. Roast for 30–40 minutes, turning after about 20 minutes, until deeply golden at the edges and easily pierced with a knife. Remove thinner pieces early if necessary. 4. Taste and finish with a small pinch of salt. Serve hot, without covering tightly, to preserve the browned edges. ### Notes - Parsnips brown quickly once tender; check the narrow tips during the final 10 minutes. ## Overall Timing / Workflow Roasting the parsnips first makes this manageable in a two-rack oven. The fish cooks last, while the fries briefly reheat. ### Instructions 1. The day before: move frozen smelt to the refrigerator to thaw. 2. 0:00 — Heat the oven to 425°F with racks in the upper and lower thirds. Prepare the parsnips. 3. 0:15 — Start roasting the parsnips. Trim the beans, prepare the tomatoes and onions, and dry and season the fish while they cook. 4. 0:45–0:55 — Once the parsnips are browned and tender, remove them and leave uncovered. Put the green beans on the upper rack and the tomato-onion tray on the lower rack. 5. After 10 minutes — Add the fish and spring onion greens to the tomato tray. Continue roasting, checking the beans after another 5 minutes. 6. When the beans are ready — Remove them, finish with balsamic, and return the parsnips to the upper rack for 3–5 minutes to reheat. Check the fish for doneness and remove promptly. 7. Finish the fish with lemon and parsley, then plate everything immediately. ### Notes - Allow roughly 75–85 minutes from starting preparation to serving with the sequential two-rack method; pan size and parsnip thickness affect the timing. ## Plating Keeping the fries beside the juicy fish preserves their browned surfaces and makes the three components distinct. ### Instructions 1. Arrange a loose pile of smelt, cherry tomatoes and spring onions on each warm plate. 2. Spoon a little tray juice over the fish, keeping it away from the parsnip fries. 3. Place the beans alongside the fish, with the balsamic droplets visible. Add the fries in a separate pile and offer lemon wedges at the table. ## Leftover Path Separating the fish and juicy vegetables from the fries makes reheating gentler and prevents the parsnips from becoming soggy. ### Instructions 1. Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours in separate shallow, covered containers. Eat the fish within 2 days and the vegetables within 3–4 days. 2. Reheat fish with the tomatoes and their juices in a covered baking dish at 300°F until it reaches 165°F, checking early to avoid drying out the small fish. 3. Reheat parsnip fries on a sheet pan at 425°F for 8–12 minutes. Serve the beans at room temperature or warm them briefly in the oven. 4. Alternatively, remove the heads and bones from chilled fish and flake the flesh into a salad with the leftover tomatoes, chopped beans, parsley and lemon. --- From ChezJK (https://www.chezjk.com), Jonathan Katzman's public home-cooking archive: every meal he has photographed, written up as a recipe you can cook.