Sablefish with Strawberries but NOT Balsamic Sauce
So, I really wanted to make this delicious-looking sablefish recipe, but I foolishly bought the sablefish the day before A Lot of Stuff Was Happening, and really wasn't up to it by the time I needed to cook the fish.
I did come up with something inspired by the recipe, but without all of the prepwork of making the searing paste and sauce. So I probably shaved a whole FIFTEEN MINUTES of prep time. Which was actually kind of key for getting it cooked at all, so I have no shame about skipping those steps. I also didn't bother to reread the recipe so I left out elements like the sesame seeds, and I wasn't in the mood for balsamic vinegar so I switched the liquid for the sauce.
Here's what I did:
* One sablefish filet, maybe 3/4th of an inch at the thickest
* Salt and pepper for seasoning
* A thin slice of butter and about the same amount of olive oil
* Thinly sliced red onion (I used half of one of the small Italian flat ones that I can't remember the name of)
* Thinly sliced green onion (I used about half a stalk)
* A few tablespoons of sherry (I would have used white wine but we didn't have any open)
* Several sliced strawberries
* Parsley chiffonade
Pat the fish dry and season with salt and pepper.
Get the pan good and hot and melt the butter and olive oil together. I let the butter brown a little before adding the fish. I put the heat somewhere between medium-low and medium on my stove. My stove runs hot so this may work better at medium on many stoves.
Add the fish and let it cook until it goes opaque about halfway up the side. A few minutes for this thickness.
Flip and do the other side; this doesn't take quite as much time. It should flake easily at the thickest point, but still look moist inside the flakes.
Remove to a plate and make the sauce.
Add the red and green onions to the pan, stir around somewhat, then hit with the liquid (in this case sherry, though I could have used balsamic vinegar or white wine.) Add the strawberries and parsley and stir around until the sauce reduces by about half and the strawberries are just cooked through.
Top fish with sauce. Consume immediately.
Sablefish, AKA black cod, is rather delicate and flaky, with a rich flavor and silky texture. In flavor it's more interesting than many white fishes (fish? fishies?), with a hint of meatiness and oiliness that went very well with the sweet strawberries. It's not so "interesting" that it would put off someone who doesn't like a really oily or meaty fish like mackeral, yellowtail, bonito, or shark, I think; it's fairly subtle without being bland.
It's not the best fish on the block, sustainability-wise, because California doesn't handle its fishery as well as Alaska and Canada do. It's not on the "bad" list but it's not on the "good" list either. However it was the most sustainable fresh and local option at the farmer's market; they also have "black snapper/grenadier" listed, which if it's a black rockfish is actually good (line caught) and if it's actually grenadier is on the watch list. I didn't actually know the status of either of those permutations so avoided it altogether; I can ask them next time I go by which it is; if it's the black rockfish it's actually a better option than sablefish.
Hmmm I should download a copy of the watch list onto my iTouch, if that's possible. (Edit: It is; Monterey Bay Aquarium puts out a free Seafood Guide app.)
I did come up with something inspired by the recipe, but without all of the prepwork of making the searing paste and sauce. So I probably shaved a whole FIFTEEN MINUTES of prep time. Which was actually kind of key for getting it cooked at all, so I have no shame about skipping those steps. I also didn't bother to reread the recipe so I left out elements like the sesame seeds, and I wasn't in the mood for balsamic vinegar so I switched the liquid for the sauce.
Here's what I did:
* One sablefish filet, maybe 3/4th of an inch at the thickest
* Salt and pepper for seasoning
* A thin slice of butter and about the same amount of olive oil
* Thinly sliced red onion (I used half of one of the small Italian flat ones that I can't remember the name of)
* Thinly sliced green onion (I used about half a stalk)
* A few tablespoons of sherry (I would have used white wine but we didn't have any open)
* Several sliced strawberries
* Parsley chiffonade
Pat the fish dry and season with salt and pepper.
Get the pan good and hot and melt the butter and olive oil together. I let the butter brown a little before adding the fish. I put the heat somewhere between medium-low and medium on my stove. My stove runs hot so this may work better at medium on many stoves.
Add the fish and let it cook until it goes opaque about halfway up the side. A few minutes for this thickness.
Flip and do the other side; this doesn't take quite as much time. It should flake easily at the thickest point, but still look moist inside the flakes.
Remove to a plate and make the sauce.
Add the red and green onions to the pan, stir around somewhat, then hit with the liquid (in this case sherry, though I could have used balsamic vinegar or white wine.) Add the strawberries and parsley and stir around until the sauce reduces by about half and the strawberries are just cooked through.
Top fish with sauce. Consume immediately.
Sablefish, AKA black cod, is rather delicate and flaky, with a rich flavor and silky texture. In flavor it's more interesting than many white fishes (fish? fishies?), with a hint of meatiness and oiliness that went very well with the sweet strawberries. It's not so "interesting" that it would put off someone who doesn't like a really oily or meaty fish like mackeral, yellowtail, bonito, or shark, I think; it's fairly subtle without being bland.
It's not the best fish on the block, sustainability-wise, because California doesn't handle its fishery as well as Alaska and Canada do. It's not on the "bad" list but it's not on the "good" list either. However it was the most sustainable fresh and local option at the farmer's market; they also have "black snapper/grenadier" listed, which if it's a black rockfish is actually good (line caught) and if it's actually grenadier is on the watch list. I didn't actually know the status of either of those permutations so avoided it altogether; I can ask them next time I go by which it is; if it's the black rockfish it's actually a better option than sablefish.
Hmmm I should download a copy of the watch list onto my iTouch, if that's possible. (Edit: It is; Monterey Bay Aquarium puts out a free Seafood Guide app.)