MARIA REGINA ZECCA

View Original

Summer Baked White Fish with Fresh Tomatoes & Olives

This dish is the epitome of summer. Flaky white fish with fresh-picked San Marzano tomatoes, green olives, and refreshing basil…need I say more? The only missing ingredient is a waterfront table.

Matt and I have been successfully growing three tomato varieties in our vegetable garden this summer. We have a bowl full of ripe San Marzano tomatoes waiting to star in a delicious summer recipe. After eating tomatoes every afternoon as a snack (with olive oil and a little salt - yum!), I thought they might be better served in an entree. I was inspired by the recipes of Il Caldo Sapore del Sud, a Sicilian food blogger, and created this easy, flavorful dish, which I paired with broccolini and toasted fregula. The recipe is easily scalable and customizable - feel free to make it your own with different fish or tomato varieties.

Note: I used mixed olives, but I recommend using just green.

Ingredients:

  • 1 pound white fish, cut into portions (I used haddock)

  • 6 fresh San Marzano tomatoes, coarsely chopped (another sweet variety, like cherry tomatoes, would also work)

  • 1/2 cup pitted green olives

  • 1 tbsp pine nuts, lightly toasted

  • 1 tbsp fresh basil, chopped

  • 1 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped

  • 2 garlic cloves, minced

  • 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling

  • Kosher salt to taste

  • Black pepper to taste

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 400 F.

  2. In a small bowl, combine tomatoes, olives, nuts, herbs, oil, and a pinch of salt. Set aside.

  3. Drizzle a small amount of oil in the bottom of a baking dish and add prepared fish (it’s okay if the pieces overlap slightly). Season generously with kosher salt.

  4. Pour tomato mixture on top of fish, distributing evenly.

  5. Bake fish on a center rack for 8-12 minutes, until the fish reaches an internal temperature of 145 F.

  6. Top with a few cracks of black pepper before serving.

Serves 3-4.

Wine pairing: light-bodied white wine. I paired this with a floral Sicilian Zibibbo.