ALLIES
ON THE
One of the things I love about summer cooking is its simplicity : ripe summer produce and simply cooked , freshly caught fish . This is a red snapper recipe , but any firm , white fish works . Other snappers , black seabass , striped bass , Pacific rockfish or lingcod , smallmouth bass , walleye , redfish or grouper . If you don ’ t want to use red tomatoes ,
Prep Time : 10 min .
TABLE
RED SNAPPER WITH CHERRY TOMATOES IS A PERFECT SUMMER DISH .
By Hank Shaw
Cook Time : 1 hr . use any cherry tomatoes . To make this a quick weeknight meal , skip drying the tomatoes and just toss them in at the last minute . Finally , the herb element is also up to you . I like the combination of mint , corn and tomatoes , but parsley , cilantro , oregano , marjoram and chives all work . Use whatever is fresh in your garden and feel free to play with the recipe . After all , it ’ s summertime !
Total Time : 1 hr . 10 min .
Servings : 4 people
INSTRUCTIONS
1 . Coat the halved cherry tomatoes in some oil and salt them well . Place them , cut side up , on a baking sheet and put in the oven at 200 degrees F ; no need to preheat . If you have a convection oven , turn the fan on . Or , you can put the tomatoes on a rack in your dehydrator and set it to 135 degrees F . It will take longer for the tomatoes to get semi-dry , but it won ’ t heat up your kitchen . Cook the tomatoes until they are about half dried , about 45 minutes to 1 hour in the oven , a bit longer in a dehydrator . Keep an eye on the tomatoes every 20 minutes or so , as different tomatoes and different ovens will give you different results .
2 . About 20 minutes before the tomatoes are ready , take the fish out of the fridge and salt it well .
3 . When the tomatoes are ready , heat the clarified butter in a large sauté pan over high heat . As the butter is heating , pat the fish dry with paper towels . If you want a crispy skin , use a butter knife to scrape down the skin ; this removes a bit more moisture and results in a crispier skin .
4 . When the butter is hot , lay the fish skin-side down in the pan , even if there is no skin ; this side is flatter . Turn the heat down to medium-high and sear the fish well . As it cooks , use a spoon to baste the other side of the fish until it ’ s just barely cooked : About 30 seconds of basting will do the trick . When the bottom of the fish is nicely browned , about 6 to 8 minutes , it should be ready . It should also lift up from the pan easily . Set the fish on a cutting board skin side up .
• 1 1 / 2 lbs . cherry tomatoes , sliced in half
• Olive oil to coat tomatoes
• Salt
• 2 to 3 ears sweet corn , kernels cut off ( about 2 c .)
INGREDIENTS
• 4 red snapper fillets , skin on or off
• 1 / 4 c . clarified butter or vegetable oil
• 3 tbsp . minced parsley , cilantro or mint
• Black pepper to taste
5 . Add the corn to the pan and toss to combine . Sprinkle it with salt . Add the tomatoes and the parsley and toss to combine . Cook for about 30 seconds and turn off the heat . Grind some black pepper over everything . To serve , give everyone some of the corn-tomato mixture and set a piece of fish on top . Serve with bread , potatoes or rice .
Find more recipes from Hank Shaw ’ s Hunter Angler Gardener Cook website , honest-food . net , and more fish recipes from his new book Hook Line & Supper .
HANK SHAW
48 SPORTSMENSALLIANCE . ORG