[Sca-cooks] OOP Question: Baked Fish

[Phil Troy / G. Tacitus Adamantius]

On Jun 28, 2009, at 8:41 PM, Celia des Archier wrote:

> recommendations for fast,
> easy, simple ways to prepare baked fish, and different types of fish  
> that
> someone who has pretty much been limited to eating catfish and trout  
> would
> like.  Period suggestions would be a bonus, but since this is for my  
> health,
> OOP suggestions would also be welcome.

Off the top of my head:

1. Place fish fillets or whole fish of almost any species, suitably  
prepped, on large sheet of heavy-duty foil. Drizzle over a little  
light (say, a tablespoon or two, and that's light, not lite, but if  
you want to do sacrilege that's your affair ;-) ) soy sauce, a little  
peanut or vegetable oil (maybe a teaspoon or two), a small splash of  
white wine, rice wine, sherry or even one of the distilled spirits  
(optional), about two or three shredded scallions, about a tablespoon  
of shredded or grated fresh ginger.

Bring up edges of foil, seal, and bake (this is really steaming) for  
approximately eight minutes per inch of thickness in a medium-hot  
(like 350-400 F) oven.

2. Marinara sauce: heat a tablespoon or two of olive oil in a heavy,  
oven-safe skillet, add ~2 cloves sliced garlic, canned or fresh  
tomatoes, a little dried thyme and/or oregano (fresh is good if  
available, but add it nearer to the end of the process), as much fresh- 
ground or flaked red pepper as you can handle, salt (or even better,  
an anchovy fillet or two, which will dissolve in the sauce, and you're  
not about to tell me you don't like fish, right???), and some chopped  
parsley. A splash of red or, preferably, white wine is optional, but  
excellent. Let this cook down a bit, and if the tomatoes become too  
tart add a tiny, as in 1/8 tsp or less, of baking soda, and cook an  
additional few minutes while it fizzes the acid out. Lay fish (firm  
white fish such as cod, haddock, even shark, or, for that matter,  
catfish are all good with this) on top of sauce in the pan, spoon some  
of it over the fish, and bake, again, for approximately eight minutes  
to the inch of thickness.

3. If you're a French, rather than an Italian, sailor, use thyme  
instead of oregano, add some chopped carrot, onion, and celery to the  
garlic and oil stage.

4. Move a bit further west along the Mediterranean coast and add some  
capers and sliced green or black olives, possibly toss some diced  
sweet peppers in there.

4. Classic Boston scrod is generally broiled or baked with butter and,  
instead of garlic, some paprika sprinkled on top.

5. Spread with a mixture of sour cream or yogurt and Dijon or other  
mustard, and bake.

6. "Fishier", a.k.a. fat or dark meat fish, such as herring, sardines,  
tuna, mackerel, bluefish, etc., respond well to sweet-and-sour.  
Chinese plum (or even duck -- phooey) sauce, that Saucy Stuff in a  
jar, or your own home-made sweet-and-sour glaze, such as apricot jam  
thinned down with vinegar, or something with raisins, etc., are all  
good. Of course, this may not be suitable for diabetics.

7. If you can eat nuts, sesame seeds, or even steel-cut oatmeal, these  
can all be used in place of bread crumbs...

8. Toss flaked sardines or tuna in a pan with some olive oil, in which  
you have cooked some chopped onion, garlic, and fennel (bulb, fronds,  
or even ground seeds), maybe some red pepper flakes. Add parsley and  
toss with pasta... again, if you can do that.

Just throwing out ideas at random...

Adamantius








"Most men worry about their own bellies, and other people's souls,  
when we all ought to worry about our own souls, and other people's  
bellies."
			-- Rabbi Israel Salanter