Greek Fish with Tomato Sauce
I liked that it was colorful and used things we had in our pantry – since we had fish on hand and the vegetables in the pantry, the only thing I needed to pick up at the store was a bit of parsley and a lemon.
We didn’t use Greek fish – in Chicago it can be hard to find tasty fresh fish, so we used Bassa fish fillets we had in the freezer. The only problem we ran into was giving the fish enough time to thaw, so baking it took longer than anticipated. To determine if fish is finished cooking, you want to see it flaking apart when you test it with a fork.
Servings: 4
Time: 1 hour
Difficulty: easy
1/4 cup olive oil
2 onions
1 stalks celery
1 small carrots
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 can chopped tomatoes
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. sugar
1/2 cup dry bread crumbs
1 lb fish steaks
2-3 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley
1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. To save time, put vegetables in a food processor in batches from hardest to juiciest (carrots, celery, onions) and process into a fine chop. Heat 2-3 Tbsp. olive oil in a heavy frying pan. Add onion, celery, and carrot and cook over low heat for 10 minutes, or until soft.
Add the garlic, cook for 2 minutes, then add the chopped tomato, tomato paste, oregano and sugar. Simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until reduced and thickened. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper.
Arrange the fish in a single layer in a baking dish. Stir in the chopped parsley and the lemon juice into the sauce. Season, to taste, and pour over the fish. Scatter the breadcrumbs over the top and drizzle with oil. Bake for 20 minutes, or until the fish is just cooked.
Note: the photos show a doubled quantity, since we had extra guests at the table.
