After the holidays wrapped, I was asked to start cooking a little healthier for a bit. While I wouldn’t describe my cooking as unhealthy, it is typically hearty and light on veggies and fish. I decided to try my hand at making rockfish but with a Moroccan flair, as my go to recipe is Italian based. However, when I went to the grocery store, there were no rockfish filets or anything similar. But, they did have a whole fish! I decided to have the monger filet the fish for me, requesting they separately wrap the head and remnants so I could be sure I had the best broth to flavor my sauce. The aromas coming from the skillet were building the anticipation for a great meal and it didn’t disappoint. So, if you’re looking for some healthy and delicious options, look no further. Just be sure that you prep all of your ingredients as those components need to be added to the skillet quickly.
Moroccan Rockfish
4 rockfish filets or other medium-to-firm white fish
Red bell pepper
2 jalapeño peppers
2 small carrots
Potato
4 garlic cloves, peeled and halved
¼ cup olive oil
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 tbsp Paprika
1.5 tsp Hot Paprika
½ tsp Cumin
¼ tsp Turmeric
~¼ cup cilantro, minced
Fish stock (recipe below)
Lemon
Season the fish with some flaky sea salt and black pepper.
Seed and slice the peppers thin and julienne the carrots.
Peel, halve, and slice the potato ¼” thick.
Once you have prepared the vegetables (and stock), add the oil to a skillet set over medium-high heat.
Once the oil begins to ripple, toss in the prepared vegetables and saute for a few minutes until slightly softened.
Add in the tomato paste and spices, stirring constantly, for a couple of minutes.
Pour in about ½ cup of water along with half of the cilantro. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper. Cover, reduce the heat to medium-low and cook for about 10 minutes, until the vegetables have softened.
Remove the cover, add in the fish filets, and pour in enough stock so that the liquid level is covering ¾ of the filets. Cover and saute the fish, for about 20 minutes, basting the filets half way through with the pan sauce.
Once the fish has cooked, sprinkle the filets with juice from half a lemon and toss in the remaining cilantro, then serve.
Fish Stock
Fish head and other remnants from ~4-5 lb fileted fish
Wine
Leek or handful of scallions
Onion, peeled and halved
Celery, rough chopped
Garlic clove, peeled and smashed
3 bay leaves
Peppercorns
Fine sea salt
Place the fish in a large pot.
Add in 1 cup of wine and 6 cups of water, along with the sliced leek/scallions, as well as all of the remaining vegetables and herbs.
Toss in a heavy pinch of peppercorns and 1 tsp of salt.
Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and maintain a steady simmer until reduced to 4 cups of liquid, roughly 30 minutes.
Strain the broth through a fine mesh sieve into a bowl (or airtight containers if making ahead of time) and discard the solids.
______________________________ Copyright 2024, Brendan McCann, All Rights Reserved.
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