Braised Opah Puttanesca

A quick Friday post and a recipe from Curtis Stone that goes together quickly, takes minimal effort and works in summery fresh tomatoes with local fish--which makes it a winner in my book! I served it with spiralized zucchini noodles for a healthy dinner.

Curtis says, "Try my take on classic puttanesca—a Mediterranean tomato sauce in which capers and olives provide an added punch of flavor—by using it to braise mahimahi or bass. You make your sauce, pop in your fish, cover the pan for a few minutes, and come back to a beautiful dish. The heat of the sauce does the cooking for you."

Braised Mahi Mahi Opah Puttanesca
Slightly Adapted from Curtis Stone via Oprah.com
(Serves 4)
 
4 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, divided (I reduced oil to 2 Tbsp)
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
3 anchovy fillets, chopped
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 1/2 lbs tomatoes, chopped
1/3 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup Kalamata olives, pitted and halved (I used mixed olives)
2 Tbsp capers, drained
sea salt
4 skinless mahi mahi or sea bass fillets (6 oz each) (I used local opah)
2 tsp. finely chopped flat-leaf parsley

In a large, heavy skillet, heat 3 Tbsp. oil over low heat. Add garlic and anchovies and cook, stirring frequently and mashing anchovies, about 2 minutes, or until garlic is soft but not browned. Stir in red pepper flakes. Add tomatoes, wine, olives, and capers. Increase heat to medium and simmer gently, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes, or until tomatoes have broken down. Season to taste with salt.

Season fish with salt, and lay gently in the sauce. Drizzle fillets with remaining 1 Tbsp. oil. Cover and simmer gently over low heat 7 to 10 minutes, or until fish is just cooked through and still moist. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.

Notes/Results: Easy and delicious--a good amount of spice and yummy briny olives and capers. This is a keeper dish! Curtis's recipe calls for mahi mahi (or suggests sea bass as an alternative) but with local fish you have to go with what looks best and freshest and today that was opah (moonfish) and it cooked up perfectly moist and tender. I think any firm, mild white fish will work well. I reduced the oil by half and went for carb-free zucchini noodles, but pasta or rice would also work well. Another small change was using  assorted (and pitted) olives from the grocery store olive bar. The kalamata olives they had had pits and I am lazy! ;-)  

This post is linked up to I Heart Cooking Clubs where this week's theme is You Say Tomato, I Say Tomahto. You can see all the tomato-filled dishes everyone made by clicking on the picture links of the post.  

***Book Giveaways Reminder!***

If you happen to live in the U.S. or Canada and love to read, I have two great book giveaways going on right now. Click on the links below to see my reviews, recipes inspired by the books, and how you can enter!

The Monster's Daughter by Michelle Pretorius:  Dark and gritty mystery thriller, set in South Africa with history and speculative fiction worked in. 
(Giveaway runs through 8/1/16) 

Unearthed by Alexandra Risen: Beautiful and moving food, garden, and family memoir (Giveaway runs through 8/4/16)   

 Happy Aloha Friday!