Food Snob is feeling a bit clairvoyant today as she
continues her series on fish – the ultimate fast food. On
Tuesday this past week, the New York Times reported the results of a new study published
in the New England Journal of Medicine on the benefits of the Mediterranean
diet, which included THREE SERVINGS OF FISH PER WEEK, for reducing the risk of
heart disease. As Mark Bittman wrote in the New York Times food section the
next day: “It’s as straightforward
as it is un-American: low in red meat, low in sugar and hyperprocessed carbs,
low in junk. High in just about everything else — healthful fat (especially
olive oil), vegetables, fruits, legumes and what the people who designed the
diet determined to be beneficial, or at least less-harmful, animal products; in
this case fish, eggs and low-fat dairy.”
He goes on to say . . . “This is
real food, delicious food, mostly easy-to-make food. You can eat this way
without guilt and be happy and healthy. Unless you’re committed to a diet big
on junk and red meat, or you don’t like to cook, there is little downside.”
Food Snob agrees:
there is little downside to eating a diet composed of “real food” that
you have cooked yourself. And since
cooking during weeknights is a challenge for anyone who works or has had a busy
day (and aren’t most days busy days?), Food Snob introduces this week’s take on
fast fish – Orange Roughy with White Wine, Tomatoes, and Spinach prepared
quickly and deliciously from fresh ingredients.
Food Snob first had a version of this dish at Maggiano’s
Little Italy – it was the special at lunch one day. Maggiano’s prepared the dish with tilapia,
lightly breaded and served over a bed of spinach with tomato, white wine, and
butter sauce on top. Now, tilapia is not
one of Food Snob’s favorite types of fish because tilapia is thin, cooks too
quickly, and turns mushy before you have time to count to 3. Still, the preparation was delicious and Food
Snob convinced the chef to tell her how he made it. Food Snob went home, made a few modifications
(there is no butter in this recipe, for example!), and has served it many times
to both guests and family members to rave reviews.
Food Snob has tried a number of types of firm white fish
to prepare this dish, including cod, halibut, and orange roughy. Orange roughy is her favorite. Orange roughy is a mild fish that works well
with the more intense tomato, wine, and spinach flavors. If you are new to cooking fish, orange roughy
is a good choice, and it is almost impossible to ruin this dish. Orange roughy is very forgiving, and even if
you overcook your fish a little, the results will still be delicious. Also, although the ingredient list looks a
little lengthy, the dish is not difficult and comes together easily and quickly. Gluten free note: you can prepare the fish without the breading
– the fish will lack the crunchy coating but the flavors are still delicious.
Food Snob usually serves this dish with oven-grilled
potato spears, a delicious side that can be cooked in about ten minutes. You can use either sweet potatoes or regular
potatoes (such as Yukon gold) for the potato spears – if you use sweet potatoes you will need to reduce
the cooking time.
Orange Roughy with White Wine, Tomatoes, and Spinach (serves 4)
Ingredient List
|
Sauce:
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1 teaspoon olive oil
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2 Tablespoons onion, chopped
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1 Tablespoon minced garlic
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½ cup white wine
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1 can low-salt chicken broth
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1 cup diced tomatoes (canned, organic, no-salt or
fresh)
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1 bay leaf
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1 teaspoon cornstarch
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Juice from one-half lemon
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Fish:
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1 Tablespoon flour
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1 Tablespoon cornstarch
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2 Tablespoons dried breadcrumbs
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2 Tablespoons panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
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1 Tablespoon parmesan cheese
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¼ teaspoon kosher salt
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1 egg white
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1 Tablespoon water
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1 to 2 Tablespoons olive oil
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4 four- to six-ounce pieces orange roughy or other
firm fish
|
1 12-ounce bag of organic baby spinach, arugula, or
one bunch rainbow chard, washed, with center stems removed and sliced thinly
and leaves chopped coarsely
|
Preparation:
Sauce: Lightly
coat a medium saucepan with cooking spray and place over medium high heat. Add chopped onion and sauté about 2
minutes. Add minced garlic and sauté 30
seconds. Add chicken broth and white
wine and bring to boil – reduce the sauce to about half its volume. While broth and white wine are reducing,
prepare the breading for the fish, below.
After white wine mixture has reduced, add tomatoes and bay leaf; allow
the mixture to continue cooking. Remove
about 2 to 3 tablespoon of the sauce to a small bowl, allow the mixture to cool
slightly. Whisk in 1 teaspoon of
cornstarch and mix thoroughly until smooth.
Add the cornstarch mixture to the wine and tomato sauce; allow the sauce
to come to a boil and thicken. Stir in
the lemon juice and taste for seasoning; add salt and pepper if needed; keep
sauce warm over low heat.
Breading: To prepare breading, place flour, cornstarch,
breadcrumbs, panko, parmesan, and ¼ teaspoon kosher salt in a pie pan or flat
dish. In another pie pan or flat dish,
mix together the egg white and water with a fork.
Fish: Coat a large, heavy-bottom skillet with
cooking spray and place over medium high heat.
Add a little olive oil (one tablespoon or less). Wash and dry the fish pieces thoroughly and
sprinkle lightly with kosher salt and fresh ground pepper. Dip each fish piece first into
the egg white mixture (coat both sides) and then into the breading mixture (coat both
sides). Don’t worry if breading doesn’t
cover every single part of the fish. The
goal is to “lightly coat” the fish with the breading mixture. Place the fish in the skillet – keep fish
pieces from touching each other. Brown
the fish for about 3 to 4 minutes, depending on thickness. When fish is golden, flip over, adding more
olive oil if necessary. The trick is to
use only as much oil as is needed to brown the breading, and no more. Cook another 3 to 4 minutes and remove the
fish to a pan or casserole and keep warm.
A toaster oven set at 200 degrees works perfectly for keeping the fish
warm.
Spinach: Reduce the heat under the skillet to
medium and pour in about half of the wine and tomato sauce. Immediately add the spinach or arugula. Stir quickly so the greens wilt evenly. Remove from heat as soon as the greens have
wilted. If using rainbow chard, start by
adding the chopped stems to the wine and tomato sauce first; cook for about two
minutes and then add the chopped leaves.
Allow the mixture to cook about two to three minutes longer. It will take longer to cook the rainbow chard
than it will take to cook the spinach or arugula.
Assembly: Divide the spinach, wine, and tomato
sauce mixture between four large flat pasta bowls or plates. Top with a piece of fish. Pour remaining sauce on top of fish, dividing
evenly among plates. Serve potato spears
on the side, if desired (recipe follows).
Oven grilled potato
spears: Preheat oven to 425
degrees. Line a large pan with a rim
(such as an 11x15x1 inch pan) with foil; coat foil lightly with cooking spray. Scrub one large, or two medium, potatoes (use
any type of potato you would like, including sweet potatoes) – do not peel.
Cut potatoes in half lengthwise, and then into wedges. Place the potato wedges on the foil-lined
baking sheet. Drizzle with 1 to 2 teaspoons
of olive oil; sprinkle with kosher salt and fresh ground pepper. Using clean hands, mix the potatoes so they
are evenly coated with the oil, salt, and pepper. Spread them out so they are flat in the pan,
one layer thick. Bake in the oven five
minutes; then remove and use a large spatula or pancake turner to flip the
spears over. Bake another 5 minutes
(less for sweet potatoes). Test for
doneness and seasoning; add more salt if necessary, and bake a little longer if
potatoes are not tender. Baking time
will vary depending on the thickness of the spears and the type of potato. When potatoes are tender, remove from oven
and serve.
Next week: Food Snob will take a break from her fish series and feature a recipe for "Quick Chicken Curry." You can have this fantastic dish on the table in 30 minutes or less!
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