“I loves you Porgy……” a lovely aria from Gershwin’s opera, Porgy and Bess of course.
But mostly I love porgy, the fish species, which should be coming to market soon, where I live.
Actually I love all fish. My husband — not so much. My cousin who is coming to stay with us over Memorial Day weekend - she loves fish too. Her husband — not so much.
But both men do like fish that’s covered and baked with lots of flavorful ingredients such as olives, tomatoes, onions and fresh herbs.
So this dish is on the menu. I’ll probably be making it with branzino, which is widely available, but it’s a perfect way to prepare lots of different kinds of fish (see the recipe).
Roasted Fish with Tomatoes, Olives and basil
4 fish filets such as porgy, branzino, hake, grouper, halibut, cod or sea bass about 5-6 ounces each, or 24 ounce large filet
1-1/2 tablespoons olive oil
salt to taste
Aleppo pepper (or use cayenne or crushed red pepper) or freshly ground black pepper
3 large plum tomatoes, chopped
1/3 cup chopped red onion
1/2 cup mixed pitted olives
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons grated fresh lemon peel
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place the fish in a baking pan. Coat the surface with the olive oil and sprinkle with salt and (Aleppo) pepper. Scatter the tomatoes, onion, olives and basil over the fish. Sprinkle with lemon juice and lemon peel. Bake for 12-18 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fish, or until the fish is cooked through.
Makes 4 servings