Baked Red Snapper

From the book The Basic Gourmet by Diane Morgan, Dan Taggart, Kathleen Taggart, and Georgia Vareldzis

Introduction

Fish baked in an herbed tomato sauce is a Mediterranean style of preparing fillets and steaks. Any piece of fish at least 1 inch thick will do, but very thin pieces of fish like sole fall apart and should be pan sautéed or broiled. A talented chef once told us that the secret to good seasoning is using just enough spice or herb that people will have to taste it more than once to determine what the flavor is. If they know at first bite, you have used too much. Remember, you can always add a little more seasoning, but you can’t remove it once it is in the food. The ginger in this sauce is used this way—just enough to pique the flavor, but not overpower it.

Ingredients

Steps

1. To absorb any excess water in fish, place fillets on paper towels and squeeze gently. Pour the lime juice over fish and set aside.
2. Heat olive oil in a 10-inch frying pan over medium heat and add onion and garlic. Cook until onion is soft and translucent, about 4 minutes. Add tomatoes and remaining ingredients except fish. Cook, uncovered, over low heat until sauce is thick and smooth, about 15 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 425°F. Place fish fillets in a single layer in an 11x7-inch baking dish. Pour sauce over fish and bake, uncovered, until fish flakes when pierced with fork, about 20 minutes. Serve from the baking dish.

Notes

• To serve 2 people, use 1/2 pound of fillets and half the sauce in an 8x8-inch baking pan. Freeze the remaining sauce for another time.

This content is from the book The Basic Gourmet by Diane Morgan, Dan Taggart, Kathleen Taggart, and Georgia Vareldzis.