Saturday, September 15, 2012

On the lighter side - at last

After a few days of feeling really bummed and down and negative and exhausted by "The Arab Spring" round two, I was ready for a change.  So this morning I clicked on, not the NEWS but, the Food Channel.  I'm so glad I did because dinner this evening was delicious. 

Working from a recipe is fraught with pot-holes for me.  I always skip something and then quel dommage. Yes indeed, another pitiful meal.  But not this time.

 
Take onions, fennel, and tomatoes.  Saute and deglaze with white wine and chicken stock.  I used sherry cooking wine because I was out of white.  It worked just fine.
 
Salt and pepper the fish.  The show used red snapper.  I chose Tilapia, a good choice because it's much less bony.


 Take the stainless steel pan and place in the oven.  Bake for 8-10 minutes at 400 degrees.  In the last minute, crank it up to 500 degrees to brown it slightly.
 
It is mild, delicious, and filling.  I served it over brown rice cooked in water and chicken broth.  Bon Appetit.


Tilapia with Fennel, Onion and Tomato
Prep Time: 15          Cook Time: 25 min          Level: Easy          Serves: 4 servings.
Ingredients
Four 4-ounce mild white fish fillets (I actually made 1 1/3 lbs of fish)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 small yellow onions, sliced with the grain
1 bulb fennel, cored and cut into very thin wedges
2 tomatoes, cut into small wedges
1 teaspoon herbes de Provence
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 cup chicken stock
1 lemon, juiced
4 small pats butter
Lemon wedges, for squeezing

Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Pat the fish dry and sprinkle with salt and pepper. In a large oven-safe saute pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat and cook the onions and fennel until tender and golden, 8 to 10 minutes. Add the tomatoes and herbes de Provence and cook until the tomatoes begin to soften, another 5 minutes. Increase the heat to high and deglaze the pan with the wine, chicken stock and lemon juice and let bubble for 1 minute.
Nestle the fish fillets into the pan, sprinkle with salt and pepper and top each with a pat of butter. Place into the oven and cook until the fish is cooked through, 8 to 10 minutes.
Broil just until a bit crusty, about 1 more minute. Squeeze lemon juice on the fish and serve.

9 comments:

Janet said...

Looks and sounds delicious! And I like your new header, too.

Tash said...

I must admit I tend to only watch 2 things: Food Network and the news! When I am at my mother's house (she has cable) I watch America's Test Kitchen, which has to be one of my absolute favourite cooking shows as all of their recipes turn out flawlessly (though us Brits are thoroughly baffled by cup measurements!)!

Your fishy main looks delish though - I will definitely add it to my 'To Make' list!

carol l mckenna said...

Sounds like a yummy recipe ~ good for you ~ being so creative ~ (A Creative Harbor)

Thanks for coming by and commenting ^_^

Amy Burzese said...

Looks pretty good. Fish is not my favorite thing, but I should eat more.

sandy said...

This made me hungry.

Jen said...

Mmmmm! I miss watching cooking shows. Of course, they mostly made me hungry :) I do, however, traipse over to foodnetwork.com regularly for some recipes and so far the one's I've tried have all worked for me. That tilapia looks delicious and warm. The perfect dish for soon to be autumn!

All the best,
Jen

Unknown said...

great idea...tune in to what will make us healthy and happy. This recipe looks wonderful, I'm always looking for ways to cook fish.

Pear tree cottage! said...

O! yes Bon Appetit! my friend.....looks delish!!!!

Jeanie said...

THis looks awfully good. I'm a big fennel fan. Always get a tad dicey cooking fish so I may have to give this one a try. Which Food Net show?