fish for dummies
I have a problem with fish: I don't like to cook it. I don't like having to be super delicate with the spatula for fear of ruining the filet. I don't like grilling it and watching it fall through the grates. I don't really like salmon and there's only so much swordfish a girl can eat.
After some research and practice, I discovered two great fish recipes that make it much easier and much tastier. The upshot: cover with seasoned texture and bake.
Jacques Pepin' slow roasted salmon (above) is from his book Fast Food My Way which is brilliant, but dated. (I found it lost in the back of my mom's cookbook collection but refer to it all the time.) He puts a coating made of bread crumbs, herbs and ground hazelnuts on top of the fish then bakes it low and slow. He serves it with a sundried tomato mayo but I just mixed a little tomato soup into mayo, added some S&P, and it was perfect. I also didn't have nuts so I just mixed the bread crumbs with some olive oil and salt.
The other recipe comes from The Barefoot Contessa but the concept is the key. Cover (any white fish) seasoned fillets in a mixture of mustard, sour cream (creme fraiche if you want to be fancy) and capers. (See left) Then bake. The fish comes out really moist with a slightly spicy/creamy flavor.