Baked Fish With Vegetables (Recipe)

Ingredients

3 medium onions, cut up

3 to 4 medium zucchini, cut up

3 medium tomatoes

1 large green sweet pepper, halved and seeded

1/2 cup Italian parsley leaves

2 to 3 cloves garlic

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/4 cup olive oil

1 15-ounce can tomato sauce

1 1/2 to 2 pounds fresh or frozen fish fillets (1 to 1 1/2-inches thick), thawed

1 lemon, thinly sliced

Steps

1. Fit a food processor work bowl with a coarse slicing disk.  Slice the onions, zucchini, tomatoes and green sweet pepper, transferring them to a large mixing bowl as the work bowl gets full.  Or, using a sharp knife, slice the vegetables by hand.

2. Replace the slicing disk with a steel knife.  Add the parsley and garlic; process until chopped.  Or,snip the parsley and mince the garlic by hand.  Add the parsley mixture to the vegetables.  Stir in the salt and pepper.

3. In a 12-inch skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Add the vegetable mixture; cook and stir over medium heat about 5 minutes or until the vegetables begin to soften.  Carefully add the tomato sauce.  Simmer, covered, for 10 minutes.  Drain, reserving the liquid.  Preheat the oven to 375°.

4. Coat the bottom of a 3-quart rectangular baking dish with the remaining olive oil; add the fish.  Spoon the drained vegetables over and around the fish.  Bake, uncovered, in the 375° oven for 35 to 40 minutes or until the fish flakes easily when tested with a fork.

5. While the fish is baking, return the reserved vegetable liquid to the skillet.  Bring to a boil.  Cook over medium heat about 5 minutes or until the liquid is reduced by half.  Using a slotted spoon, serve the fish and vegetables.  Spoon the sauce cover each serving.  Garnish with the lemon slices.

Tips:

Lake trout, grouper, walleye pike, pike or bluefish (if available) work well for this recipe.

Italian parsley has larger, flatter, darker green leaves and a milder flavor than the more common curly-leaf parsley.  To store, wash parsley and shake off the excess moisture.  Wrap in paper towels and place in a plastic bag in the refrigerator up to 1 week.

Thaw frozen fish in the refrigerator overnight; do not thaw it at room temperature.