I had a bunch of ladies over for dinner one night recently. I was racking my brain a bit to figure out the optimal menu for the occasion. When we go out to a restaurant, we often all end up getting burgers – but that just didn’t feel right for a fun summer girls night. I debated kabobs or chicken but those either seemed like a lot of effort or just a bit weak for some fun lady time.
So, we landed on my favorite fall back – a simple white fish dinner. So good. I went straight to Food52 and found this recipe but modified it a bit to make it even easier. While I love a good seared fish (like this baby), baked fish is so incredibly easy especially when you are having guests. You really just put it in the oven … and then take it out.
Not to beat a statement down even further, but this meal is incredibly easy to make. Here are a few notes:
- Time // All of the prep is complete in less than 5 minutes. 5 minutes! I spent the most amount of time picking out red and yellow tomatoes to make sure the meal was colorful.
- Farro // I am a huge fan of farro these days – and this was a great side for the dish. It only takes about 30 minutes to cook but super hands-off. You don’t have to measure any water like for rice or quinoa – just treat it like a pasta.
- Alternate prep // The next time I make this meal I could absolutely see myself using the same ingredients but differently. I could sear the fish with a good crust and then sauté the tomato olive mixture in a pan. A good blister on the tomatoes would be nice.
Here’s how it goes.
- Preheat the oven to 375F.
- Combine the tomatoes, olives, and capers in a bowl.
- Grate the garlic using a hand grater onto a cutting board or bowl. Sprinkle heavily with kosher and combine into a paste then mix in olive oil. This might be a bit confusing but trust me it’s worth it. When you are done just mix into the tomato/olive mixture to help distribute the garlic all over everything.
- Pat the fish dry. Season well with salt and pepper on both sides.
- Drizzle olive oil in the bottom of your baking dish and then arrange your fish fillets so they all have a bit of room. Pour the tomato/olive mixture over the fish. Squeeze a bit of lemon juice over the baking dish.
- Bake the fish for about 15-25 minutes depending on filet thickness. You’ll know its done when the fish flakes easily.
- Plate the fish over the grain of choice (farro for me) and serve with a lemon wedge.
Farro Side
- Cook the farro as directed on the package
- Add in feta and edamame
- Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with some sea salt for flavor.
Shopping List
1 cup halved cherry tomatoes
1/2 cup coarsely chopped, pitted Kalamata olives
2 tablespoons capers, drained
2 6-ounce cod (or other) fish fillets, 1 to 1 1/2 inches thick
Kosher salt
Freshly cracked black pepper
2-3 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic, grated
1 lemon, halved, plus more for serving
Farro Side
Farro
Feta
Edamame