Fish with Veggies
This dish is quick and easy. Start with the veggies, as they cook in about 14 minutes, while the fish is around 10 minutes start-to-finish. If either is finished before the other, don’t panic, they can sit for a couple of minutes.
Fish with Veggies
Serves 4
Veggies
2 tablespoons olive oil
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
½ red onion, medium to small chopped
¾ cup cherry tomatoes, halved
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium zucchini, quartered and diced into ½-inch pieces
1 yellow crookneck squash, quartered and diced into ½-inch pieces
2 ears fresh corn, shucked and cut from the cob
1 tablespoon fresh basil, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons fresh Italian parsley, minced
1 teaspoon fresh chives, finely minced with kitchen scissors
salt and pepper to taste
Fish
2 tablespoons canola oil
4 white fish fillets, 6 ounces each, with or without skin
salt and pepper
½ fresh lemon
Garnish
1 lemon, cut in wedges
Directions
The veggies
Pour olive oil in a nonstick or cast-iron skillet and heat to medium-high. Sprinkle in red pepper flakes and add onions. Sauté until onions begin to have a slight brown edge, about 4 minutes.
Add cherry tomatoes and quickly stir to blend with onions. Then, let tomatoes sit (do not stir) as you want a char on the tomatoes. Cook 4 minutes, then add garlic, zucchini, and yellow squash. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Mix the vegetables with a wooden spoon, being careful not to mash them, and sauté at a medium-high temperature for 5 minutes. You want the squash to just begin to soften. Regulate heat so the vegetables do not burn but are still cooking quickly.
Add fresh corn kernels and mix in. Cook 2 minutes. Remove from heat, toss in herbs, and let sit for a minute. Taste for seasonings.
The fish
Preheat oven to 400°. Salt and pepper the fish.
Heat an ovenproof skillet (I prefer cast-iron) that is just large enough to hold the fish. Add the canola oil and heat until it shimmers. Add fish, skin-side down if it has skin on it. Fry over medium-high heat for 3 minutes, then carefully flip the fish. Cook 3 minutes more. Flip again, being careful to not break the flesh. Place skillet in preheated oven and bake until the center of the fish is opaque, 2 to 3 minutes.
To serve: Arrange veggies on the bottom of each plate with a fish fillet on top. Squeeze the lemon over all 4 portions, then serve each with a lemon wedge.
Notes
Tilapia, rock fish, flounder, halibut, and cod work well.
Rinse fresh fish fillets in a cup of cold water with a tablespoon of white vinegar added. Just put the water and vinegar in a nonreactive pan and dunk the fish. It cleans and freshens it. Pat dry.
Sally Uhlmann’s passion for cooking led her to publish a memoir-style cookbook, “Just Cook with Sally.” She splits her time between the States and her farmhouse in Cortona, Italy, when she is not traveling the world. Sally cooks, develops recipes, and writes stories—mostly about the intersection of food, travel, and her life.
