Monday, October 19, 2009

Mr. Hawthorne Prepares An Excellent Lunch - Baked Tile Fish With A Tomato Basil Dijon Cream Sauce On Linguini.

Here's the money shot:
Mr. Hawthorne came home with two very nice tile fish fillets and he's cooking lunch today. And it was one of the bestest meals I've ever had.
There was a little bit of skin left on the fish so he needed to remove that first.
Then, feeling down the red vein thingie which you can see in the first picture, he pulled out all the little pin bones.
Mr. Hawthorne sliced some onions over top of the fish, added freshly ground salt and pepper, and poured in about 1/4 cup white wine, a Pinot Grigio, to be precise. The fish went into a 350 degree oven for about 16 minutes. This cooking time was for 1 pound of tile fish. Adjust time accordingly for more or less fish and the thickness of your fillets. If you can't find tile fish in your grocery, you can substitute another mild, flaky, skinned white fish, like grouper, striped bass (aka rock fish), halibut, or cod. He would not use flounder since the fillets are not thick enough and flounder usually has the skin on. He would not use catfish or tilapia because they have too much of their own flavor. This dish is about the sauce. The fish complements the sauce, not the other way around.
First, Mr. Hawthorne added linguini to salted, boiling water.
Then, he started on his sauce. He sauteed chopped onion in butter just until the onion got translucent.
Mr. Hawthorne's preferred choice of tomatoes is Muir Glen Organic Fire Roasted Diced Tomatoes. He used a 14.5 ounce can. Just heat through.
He added in about a cup of heavy cream.
And maybe 1 1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard.
Mr. Hawthorne became inspired, and grated in about 4-5 shavings of nutmeg, tasted it, and added another 3-4 shavings. If you're using a nutmeg out of the jar, start out with 1/8 teaspoon at a time and taste as you add. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Tile fish is ready.
He chopped fresh basil and sliced tomatoes ...
... and added a sprinkling of the basil to his sauce.
Ta daaaa! Little nest of linguini with tile fish nestled comfortably in the pasta bed, adorned with Mr. Hawthorne's sauce, and a tiara of sliced tomatoes and basil on top.
This was perfect. The sauce was excellent. Just a hint of Dijon mustard and the almost barely there flavor of the nutmeg. The freshness of the tomato slices and the basil just put it over the top.

1 comment:

Marilyn said...

Ooh, that looks divine. I just may have to make that for us, but with a different fish, given that we live years away from the ocean.