I’m not a new year’s resolutions person, but I do like a reminder now and then to do better. And one of those things to make me a better person involves eating more fish. I’m always on the look out for a good fish recipe. A friend of mine had made this for me for dinner over the holidays and it was so delicious that I asked for the recipe. She used red snapper but I had some salmon filets so I used that instead and I decided to add in some lemon zest as well. It’s a pretty versatile dish, so you could sub in most any fish fillet that you have on hand.
The tomatoes, capers and olives make this a tangy and flavourful sauce. I used to be a bit afraid of mixing tomatoes and fish (due to a bad fish dish my mom made when I was a kid), but that fear is definitely over. It doesn’t take much preparation and the ingredients are all readily available. It’s perfect for guests or just a cozy night in. Serve with steamed rice, broccoli and a nice red wine.
salmon livornese
1 T olive oil
1/2 onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 large can of tomatoes
2 T capers, chopped
1/2 c sliced black olives, drained
1/2 t red pepper flakes
2 T chopped fresh parsley
1 lb salmon or red snapper
zest of 1 lemon
1 T lemon juice1. Preheat oven to 400F. In a large pan, sauted the onion in the olive oil until soft, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook for another minute. Stir in tomatoes, capers, black olives, red pepper flakes and parsley. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes.
2. Spread 1/3 of the sauce into an 11×17 baking dish and place the fish fillets over top in a single layer. Squeeze lemon juice over the fish and then pour on the remaining sauce. Top with lemon zest.
3. Bake for 15 minutes for 1/2 inch thick fillets or 30 minutes for 1 inch thick fillets. Fish is done when it flakes easily with a fork. Sprinkle with extra parsley and serve.
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Ahhh, there it is! Thanks for posting this. I, too, need to be eating fish, more than just once a month, but not living near the sea/ocean has its limitations. Good quality fish is so expensive here.
Oh, this is much like one of my classic go-to recipes for fish – works for most types and I usually have the ingredients on hand. I don't do lemon in mine, but that sounds good.
My variations are that I use a variety of Greek olives from the olive bar (black & green) and I add thyme & a little veggie stock. It's great served over couscous, btw.
Salmon is my best friends favorite. I’ll have to make this for her when we go back to school. Thanks!
This sounds great! I love ANYTHING with capers.
I would eat fish every day if I could, but because of mercury poisoning I don’t think I ever will.
I actually had this dish at an Italian restaurant recently, except they used striped bass instead of salmon. It was delicious and I have been meaning to try to recreate it. I am also on a mission this year to eat more fish, and salmon is definitely my favorite!
I’m with you. I think about eating fish a lot, but I actually follow through far less than I intend.
And when I looked at my behemoth cookbook collection a week ago, I was stunned to see I don’t have a single fish cookbook. I plan to take care of that immediately.
That looks so delicious, and really satisfying!
The sauce reminds me of a creole dish my mother used to make with white-fleshed fish. It had celery and green bell pepper, too. This looks quite interesting.
bijoux, we’re lucky here as we can get reasonable prices on all kinds of fresh fish.
maija, sounds good…and next time i make this i’ll try couscous instead of rice. thanks!
meg, i agree, capers are awesome! and i think fish once in awhile is a-okay!
hayley, i’m sure your friend will love it!
joanne, good luck! i hope you can tweak this so it’s as good as your restaurant version!
cheryl, get on with fish! don’t be afraid!
cookiepie, it’s so very yummy!
dawna, i’m sure with a few tweaks this could easily be a creole dish!
Hi! I found you through Patricia (Technicolor Kitchen). What a lovely blog! And I love your cards at your Etsy shop. By the way, this dish would work well with Tilapia, too. I think you can leave it in the oven for about 16 – 18 minutes.
That sounds f-a-n-t-a-s-t-i-c! So flavorful. I know that salmon has a lot of vitamin d, which is an extra bonus living in the great sunless northwest!
I tried it and it was great! I used frozen/thawed salmon filets since we live in Missouri. But my brother-in-law has a trout farm in Tenn with some in the catch-out pond weighing about 5 lbs. Wouldn’t this recipe be a great way to use some of them?
mari, indeed, it can be made with many kinds of fish! thanks for the timing too 🙂
don’t i know it, cakespy! luckily this week has been lovely (despite the fog).
glad you liked this, bettina! and definitely yes, it would be great with trout!
Jim and I had always hated olives, now all of a sudden we are both in love with them. Weird. But this is perfect. : )
I just resolved (2 days ago, not on new year’s) to eat more fish and beans instead of meat, so I will have to try out some of these recipes.
caviar, my husband hates olives but he’ll eat them in this. i think because they’re the canned kind and less potent!
lydia, i hope you enjoy this! yeah, i’m trying to eat more fish…i already eat beans up the wazoo!
Meat is my family favorite. But fish is preferred at my in laws. This recipe is definitely a keeper to make them surprise at the Pujas.
I've got to respond to your blog entry's eat-fish-to-be-a-better-person argument.
I think the more you read about the state of the oceans, the clearer it gets that fish — especially top predators like tuna and salmon — aren't sufficiently numerous to go around. I personally feel an obligation to abstain from fish for the sake of the world's hungry, for the sake of marine life, and for the sake of the fish themselves — who probably value their lives more than I value their flavor.
This recent Time magazine article is well worth reading:
http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1914078,00.html