An Easy Fish Supper

Here's a recipe we love: white fish braised in a Spanish red pepper sauce.  Talk about a delicious meal that's good for you, too.  Pristinely fresh fish from Cape Ann Fresh Catch simmered in a bright orange puree of onions, garlic, and red peppers.  The sauce is actually thickened with nuts—almonds to be exact—so you get a creamy, full-bodied sauce without the cream.  Serve this over rice with a green vegetable on the side, like roasted asparagus or garlicky greens, and you're in business.   Also?  It's fast.  Thirty minutes tops from start to finish. 

That's right, you owe me big for this one!

Fish in Spanish Red Pepper Sauce

This is delicious with monkfish, but you could also try hake, pollock, and haddock, too.

2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 red bell peppers, diced
1-1/2 tsp. salt
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 cup dry sherry (or Madeira)
1 cup fish stock (or bottled clam juice)
1/4 cup slivered almonds (skinless)
1/2 tsp. black pepper
Several shakes of paprika
Dash of cayenne
2 lbs. monkfish, haddock, pollock, hake, or cod, cut into 2- to 3-inch pieces
1 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley

In a large frying pan, heat the oil over medium heat.  Add onions, red peppers, and salt, and cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is soft, about 5 minutes.  Stir in the garlic and cook 15 seconds.  Add the sherry and simmer 1 minute.  Add stock or clam juice and bring to a simmer.  Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 10 minutes.

Let cool slightly, then pour vegetables into blender.  With a dishtowel pressed over the top, puree until smooth.  Add the almonds and spices, and puree again.  Pour sauce back into pan and bring to a simmer.  Add the fish and simmer, covered, until done, 10-12 minutes.  Serve sprinkled with parsley over rice.         Serves 4.

Source: Adapted from Food & Wine.

Comments

[cris]

We've signed up for Cape Ann Fresh Catch as well, which has been great ... though, hey, it'd be nice to get a break from all of the flounders that we've been getting lately.

Recently, my go-to-recipe for our CAFC haul has been steaming with either soy sauce and Asian aromatics or white wine and leeks or shallots.

[kevi]

this is my husband's new favorite! where do I mail the check?

[snippyscissors]

unanimously declared a keeper after one bite each. brainstorming for what else could go with that sauce was the main topic of conversation after the yummy noises subsided. super delish dish.

[Russ]

Thank you Tammy! This was excellent. I roasted the peppers first, to give the sauce a smokey touch. It was enjoyed by the whole family, including the three and five year olds.

[Tammy]

Russ: Great idea to roast the peppers. Yum! So glad it was a hit!

snippyscissors: I ate the remaining sauce with a spoon like soup. In fact, if you scaled the recipe up, it would make a terrific creamy red pepper soup without the cream (swap in veggie stock, water, or chicken stock for the fish stock).

kevi: Awesome! It's my gift to you!

cris: Sounds great! We haven't gotten much flounder, but the catch seems to vary from pickup day to pickup day. We're supposed to get haddock today.

[Katie]

Tammy, this was so insane. I made it for my husband who LOVES fish (I don't) and he loved it. Thank you so much! I printed this up and put it in my cookbook along with most of your other recipes. Thank you again! It was very easy to make as promised :)

[Maria]

Tammy, I loved this! made it today, with pollock, and in spite of the fact that I callously threw some water in instead of sherry AND fish stock/clam juice, it was tasty! Next time I will make the effort to have at least either sherry or fish stock, and I expect it to be even more amazing.
for bonus points the colouring/pepper & onion base reminded me of how my (Spanish) grandmother cooks fish and meat a lot :o)

[Maria]

oh yes, and I forgot to say, you're right, it's beautifully easy to make as well!