Mediterranean Baked Fish.
Mediterranean baked fish is evolved from a picture I saw on the internet featuring beautifully blistered cherry tomato halves. The result is a well balanced dish that throws off lots of delicious liquid you will want to sop up with rice or sourdough bread. Serves 4.
Ingredients
1 lb or more white fish fillets (cod, tilapia, haddock or halibut), divided into equal portions
2 T olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
¾ c cherry tomatoes, halved
½ c kalamata olives, sliced
¼ c red onion, thinly sliced
2 T capers
1 T lemon juice
1 t dried oregano
Salt and pepper to taste
Fresh parsley or basil for garnish
Method: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Toss ingredients (except the fish and garnish) in olive oil and spread a thin layer (about a third of the mixture) in a baking pan. Nestle the fish filets amongst the veggies then layer on remaining 2/3 of ingredients. Bake uncovered 15-20 minutes or until fish flakes easily with a fork. Garnish with fresh parsley or basil and serve over rice.
Hello burned fingers,
This recipe reminds me of a favorite Mexican dish, Huachinango Veracruzano. Huachinango is a true Red Snapper fish that is prepared whole in a special sauce famous from the city of Veracruz Mexico. Veracruz is the largest seaport in Mexico. I took an ADO bus from Mexico City to Veracruz in August 1974 and spent the week in Veracruz. That’s when I fell in love with this special dish. It is served with the bones intact and the head attached. It is hard to locate true Red Snapper, in Los Angeles I used the Red Rock Cod as a replacement. In Los Angeles the fishmongers call the Red Rock Cod a Red Snapper but it is a different fish altogether.
After enjoying the dish in Veracruz I made my own version when I returned home. Two events occurred in August 1974 that ties my memory of this dish to that month and year. First, the swallows that famously roost in San Juan Capistrano migrate to the central plaza of Veracruz every year for the month of August. In the daytime the birds are out foraging but at sundown they roost on the hotels that surround the plaza. A local took me to the roof of a hotel and I was in the midst of a swarm of swallows. They flew above me and around me and gradually their numbers reduced as they found the spot they would roost on for the night. It was magical.
Secondly, I was alone for the week in Vera Cruz and toured the local sights but one morning after having a shave in the hotel’s barbershop I noticed that everyone at the hotel was watching a television in the lobby. That was unusual in itself, but what they were watching was the live broadcast of the resignation of Richard Milhouse Nixon. That’s my story and I am sticking with it. I will try this Mediterranean version. I suppose a Tilapia fillet would taste great.