November 13, 2022
This morning I purchased a 1 1/2 lb red snapper from Nelson's meat & fish. Their fish comes in fresh, daily. I sampled a bite of raw scallop, salmon and tuna and they were all really delicious! The hospitality and service was exceptional. I also got one octopus tentacle and some scallops for tomorrow night. (This size snapper feeds about 3 adults...or in our case tonight, 2 people and one ecstatic dog. We often don't utilize fish leftovers...thus the decision to share with our favorite four-legged family member.)
I took the fish out of the fridge about an hour and a half before dinner, and let it come to room temperature. While it sat on the counter, I washed and dried all the veggies, cut the fins off the fish and pre-heated the oven to 400 F. After about 30-40 mn, when the fish was almost to room temp, I sliced 2 lemons and smashed 6 cloves of garlic. I covered a sheet pan with a strip of foil, placed some lemons in the middle roughly in the shape of a fish, then a 1/2 bundle of thyme, then half the garlic. I would have used more herbs, like oregano and parsley...but there was a little snag in my planning. The thyme alone ended up flavoring the fish plenty. I drizzled the lemon-garlic-herb mound with a bith of EVOO. I also drizzled the olive oil all over the fish, rubbed it in and salted both sides. Next, the fish was placed on top of the mound, and I tucked the other half of the lemon slices, garlic and thyme inside the fish. I lefted/crinkled up the edges of the foil to create a bit of a bowl shape, then poured in some dry white wine (you can see in the picture above.) The fish cooked in the middle of the oven for 35mn. Then I kept it in for another 4 minutes after turning the heat to broil.
As the fish was cooking, I sliced 2 leeks and sauteed them on low heat, in butter and olive oil. I threw in a thyme sprig for flavor and added a sprinkling of kosher salt. Next I sliced a few crimini and shiitake mushrooms I found at the farmer's market this morning. I sauteed a bit of red onion in butter and when soft added some white wine and the mushrooms. I kept both the leeks and mushrooms on low heat while cutting up some pear and beets (roasted for an hour before starting dinner prep.) I then chopped up a few tbsp of Valencia almonds with rosemary and set aside with other salad ingredients.
I continued to stir the leeks and mushrooms, separately and periodically. About 5mn before the fish was done, I poured a little cream in with the leeks, and cooked them for an additional 5mn. While they finished cooking, I assembled the salad. I poured some of my best EVOO into the bottom of the bowl, and whisked in a little balsamic, salt and pepper until the oil was emulsified. I added the arugula and the matchsticks I had cut from the pear and roasted beet. I tossed everything and then sprinkled the chopped almonds on top.
To serve, a generous spoonful of creamed leeks was placed on each plate and topped with a piece of fish. The salad and mushrooms were added as sides.
We loved this meal...the fish was super tender and flaky...with a fresh buttery-herb flavor. The woodyness of the mushrooms, and deep flavors in the salad complimented the fish really nicely.
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