05 April 2008

Saturday Lunch with Sunshine

It is so pretty out today! I think the weather subconsciously inspired this meal. I wanted bright, summery flavors! I also needed a balanced meal after getting my butt kicked by Molly this morning at the gym. But don't worry, I won't get into that today. Yesterday, while wandering the aisles of Whole Foods, the fish counter caught my eye. A very nice fish monger came out and started chatting with me about the available fish. He offered that if he were buying fish today, he would select the Sablefish. It was flown in fresh that morning and looked fantastic. He barely had to open his mouth, and I was sold. I have learned to never turn down a fish monger's recommendation - they always know what is best in their case.

I needed to sleep on what I wanted to do with that delicious fillet of fish. While at the market, I also picked up some beautiful cherry tomatoes and snow peas. So while working out this morning, I started to plan my attack. After cooling down from my work out, I put 2 small sauce pots on to boil- one for whole wheat couscous and one for the snow peas. Next I had to think about what I wanted to do with this gorgeous fish. I bought some hydroponic basil yesterday, so I decided to make a vinaigrette, but it was inspired by a gremolata. I took the zest from an orange and blended it with a handful of basil leaves, orange juice, salt and olive oil. The flavor was fantastic and I knew it would be wonderful drizzled over a pan-seared fillet of fish. Once the pots came to a boil, I began to cook my fish, very simply with just olive oil, salt and pepper. After flipping the fish, I added the sliced cherry tomatoes to the pan to soften alongside the fish. The final dish was a beautiful piece of fish on top of whole wheat couscous with cherry tomatoes and snow peas - all topped off by that summery vinaigrette. I am going to use those same combination of flavors from the vinaigrette throughout the spring and summer on salads. It was delicious.
(No recipe since I basically just created this as I went...)

3 comments:

RecipeGirl said...

I've never heard of that fish, but you made a very pretty dish of it!

Karen said...

Looks absolutely gorgeous and with those flavors, I know it must taste fantastic. I totally agree with accepting suggestions from Whole Foods fishmongers. I love those guys. I always ask them what they like and how to make it. I will be sure to try Sablefish asap. Have you read Mark Bittman's book on Fish? It's a great resource, too.

Unknown said...

We had sablefish in Vancouver and it was to DIE for. I'll have to keep my eye out.