We love this recipe for its great combination of simplicity and flavor.
Make it in one pan in the oven with no fussy techniques of any kind. The
result is brightly colored and full of complementary flavors that
really let the fish shine. There will be plenty of delicious, saucy
broth at the bottom of the pan, so we recommend serving on top of our
favorite easy orzo to soak it all up. If you don't have striped bass,
substitute cod, black sea bass or halibut.
Ingredients
-
2 shallots, minced
-
1 red bell pepper, diced small
-
12 ounces (340 grams) mixed cherry tomatoes, halved (quarter any obnoxiously large ones)
-
2 garlic cloves, minced
-
¼ cup (60 grams) capers
-
½ cup (120 ml) dry white wine
-
½ cup (120 ml) low-sodium vegetable, chicken or fish stock
-
A few thyme sprigs
-
1 teaspoon fine sea salt, divided
-
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
-
4 6- to 8-ounce (200-gram) striped bass fillets, skin and bones removed
-
2 tablespoons (28 grams) butter, diced
-
¼ cup julienned basil leaves
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F with a rack in the center.
- Into a large heavy pan with a lid,
place the shallots, bell pepper, tomatoes, garlic, capers, wine, stock,
thyme, half the salt, and half the pepper. Give it a stir.
- Bake, covered, for 20 minutes.
- Pat striped bass fillets dry with paper towels.
- Carefully
remove pan from oven and arrange filets in pan on top of sauce,
nestling them in a bit. Sprinkle fish with remaining ½ teaspoon salt and
dot with butter.
- Return pan to oven,
uncovered. Bake until fish is just cooked through, about 15 to 20
minutes depending on thickness. Sprinkle with the basil.
- To serve, place about a cup of orzo into each of four wide, shallow bowls and top each with a piece of fish. Spoon some veggies and plenty of sauce on top.
Notes
- If you're not awash in striped bass but are still looking
for a great baked white fish recipe, feel free substitute cod, black
sea bass, or halibut.
- Choose a wine that you like to drink. I
used Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand, which is one of our
longtime favorite value wines. It's widely available.
- The only
real work of this recipe is in chopping the shallots, bell pepper, and
tomatoes nice and small so that they cook down into a beautiful sauce in
a relatively short time. Other than that, you get to just nestle
everything into a pan and let it work for you while you do your thing.
- There
will be plenty of delicious, saucy broth at the bottom of the pan, so
we recommend serving the fish in wide, shallow bowls on top of our
favorite easy orzo to soak it all up. It would also pair beautifully with rice pilaf or mashed potatoes.
- I
prefer to make this recipe right before we sit down to eat, especially
since it's so hands-off. But if you need to, you could make it in
advance, either in full or in part .One option is to prep all the
ingredients up to 24 hours in advance, store them in the fridge, and
assemble and bake right before serving. Or you could bake the sauce
(through step 3 in the recipe card below) up to 24 hours in advance and
then add and bake the fish right before serving.
- Leftovers will keep well in an airtight container in the fridge for three to four days.
- For
a vegetarian version with similar flavors, this sauce would also make a
great base for a couple of cans of white beans or chickpeas.
Recipe courtesy of Umami Girl https://umamigirl.com/favorite-striped-bass-recipe...
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