Pesce alla Mediterranea (Mediterranean-style Fish)

Do you want a quick and easy, yet delicious and flavorful new fish recipe? This is certainly a staple in our house, especially during Lent!

Today is Ash Wednesday, which marks the first day of the lenten season for many Christians/Catholics around the world. Throughout this 40-day period, many completely abstain from meat, while most abstain on this Wednesday and every Friday until Easter Sunday (in addition to Holy Week). This means that for us carnivorous foodies, it can be a balancing act to come up with new, high-protein meals that align with our religious traditions.

Fear not! Joolz.Foodz is fully equipped for this important season with the tastiest recipes. This recipe is not only delicious, but quick, easy, and just different. You can pair this with your choice of side, but I like to serve it with my garlic and herb cauliflower mash (recipe is already up on the blog).

Let's get started!

INGREDIENTS (serves 4):

• Around 2 pounds of wild-caught white fish of your choice (I personally love haddock or halibut for this recipe)

• 2 cups of organic cherry tomatoes, sliced in half

• 1 cup of pitted kalamata olives, sliced in half

• Any good quality olive oil to grease your pan

• 2 cloves of garlic, minced

• Handful of fresh parsley

• Seasonings of choice

DIRECTIONS:

1. First, start with cleaning your fish and rinsing it well.

2. Once your fish is cleaned, season generously with salt, pepper, and a little bit of fresh garlic. I like to keep the direct seasonings very minimal because the combination of olives, tomatoes, olive oil, and fresh garlic all together give the fish all the flavor it needs.

3. Slice up your tomatoes and olives, and set them aside.

4. In a pan over medium-high heat, add a drizzle of olive oil. Once the oil is heated, add your minced garlic and cook for about a minute before adding your tomatoes and olives. Reduce the heat to a medium-low.

5. Allow the tomatoes to burst and release their juices and continue to mix. Add some salt and pepper here as well. This step only takes about 3-5 minutes before your tomato-olive combination is ready.

6. After about 5 minutes of sauteeing, make space in the pan to add in your fish, cover, and let cook.

7. Keep the fish cooking over a medium heat for about 6-7 minutes. Depending on the thickness of your pieces of fish, it may need more or less time. But for a filet about 1-inch thick, anywhere from 6-8 minutes, covered and over medium heat, should do the trick.

8. Optional: at the very end before serving, add a handful of spinach and let it wilt down with the fish and tomato + olive. If not, once your fish looks cooked, but still moist, turn off the heat.

9. Serve it with a side of my garlic and herb cauliflower mash, organic jasmine rice, or over a plate of organic pasta with olive oil, and you're all done. As you can see here, I served mine with a side of buttered garlic herb cauliflower mash and a bit of arugula. Buon Appetito!