White Fish with Fennel and Tomato

As promised, fun with fennel and here's a K2 original for you to try out.  For those who are like me and not big fish eaters, the nice thing about this recipe is that you can use a light, white, non-superfishy fish like flounder (used for this recipe), orange roughy or tilapia.  Any would work well, so pick your fav.

White Fish with Fennel and Tomato

1 lb white fish fillets (two decent-sized)
1 fennel bulb, sliced

Tomato topping
3 medium tomatoes, rough chopped
1/2 cup onion, minced (about 1/4 of a med onion)
1 tsp garlic, minced
2 tsp fresh cracked black pepper
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp fennel seeds, crushed
olive oil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Heat about 1 tbsp olive oil in a skillet over medium high heat.  Saute the onion until light brown, about 3-4 minutes.  Add in the garlic, cook an additional 1-2 minutes.

Add in tomatoes, sugar and spices.  Stirring occasionally, leave the tomato mixture to cook over medium high heat until the excess liquid is cooked out of it (about 6-7 minutes).

crushed fennel seeds

de-moisturized tomato topping

Trim off the green fluffy tops of the fennel and cut into thick slices.  Doesn't need to be pretty.

On a sheet of foil lay out a layer of fennel and drizzle with oil.

Rinse the fish fillet and pat it dry before laying it on the fennel.

Cover the fish with tomato topping.

Close/fold the foil over the fish and cinch up the ends.  Put the packet(s) on a cookie sheet and bake for 10-15 minutes.

You'll know the fish is done because it will be white and not opaque.  Serve immediately, makes about 4 servings.

We served it with garlic mashed potatoes and steamed haricot vertes (the K2 green of choice), accompanied by a nice dry white white.  The WFFT is very flavorful and not to heavy on the stomach. 

NOTES

As I mentioned on Wednesday, I like my fennel with a little crunch to it, so I put the fennel on the foil raw. If you are like the PGPs (aka Parental Guinea Pigs) and prefer your fennel with a little less bite resistance, then I would recommend throwing the fennel slices into a skillet with a touch of oil and saute them about 3-4 minutes to soften them up first. There's no right or wrong way to do it, so whatever your preference is will work.

I used vine-ripened tomatoes because they are less fleshy than Roma tomatoes and less watery than standard tomatoes.  Plus, they are really pretty and bright red.