Norwitz Notions

Some people plan out their meals, setting aside ingredients and making lists for those they don’t have. Others wing it based on what looks good in the market or what’s at home. Although I sometimes plan, especially when I’m having guests, I’m more apt to wing it. Last night was a perfect example.

I knew I was going to make roasted vegetables but wasn’t sure what else. Michael was off to Costco and I told him to get any fresh wild fish that looked good. He got sole. There was some wild ahi , but we try not to eat tuna very often due to mercury, and there was exactly one package of anything else that was left (farmed fish doesn’t count; we won’t eat it unless it’s from a place we trust), so he got it.

My heart sank when I saw the package. I love Dover sole and we eat it regularly, but it comes in small thin pieces which require a lot of work to cook with. But this wasn’t Dover, it was Petrale sole, which is thicker and bigger.

I chopped up the veggies for the side dish and there were some aging crimimi mushrooms I wanted to use. Since they release a lot of water, I didn’t really want them in with the veggies, so I decided to use them with the fish. I sliced them and put them in the pan with a bit of olive oil and salt. Then I slid them in the oven which was already on for the veggies.

Petrale sole is still pretty thin compared to most fish, and Costco has big packages, so I knew I wasn’t going to get it all in a single layer in one pan. I decided to double up, with some veggies inbetween, and then semi-poach it all in the oven.

I’m glad I precooked the mushrooms. They were very flavorful and it gave me some liquid to work with on the bottom. In the hot pan, I mixed them with some fresh oregano and rosemary from my garden (I wanted sage but my sage plant wasn’t producing enough) and pushed them all to one corner. I put a few across part of the pan, lay a piece of fish on top, then put sun-dried tomatoes (in olive oil and herbs) on the fish along with some more mushrooms, another piece of fish, and more tomatoes and mushrooms. Then I repeated it for the rest of the pan (I had 7 pieces total so I used the 3 smallest on the bottom layer and topped with 2 bigger ones).

I baked it in a 350*F oven (if you’re making vegetables on the side, put in when they are nearly done) for about 20-30 minutes. The liquid from the vegetables and the fish itself created a wonderful sauce that led to the fish being poached or steamed as much as baked.

Delicious.