Dinner Tonight: Snapper with Zucchini and Tomatoes

It seems as if we've eaten a lot of great fish over the summer, and although I like to buy and prepare local fish, sometimes it just isn't possible. If you can find fresh red snapper, use it in this dish--it is worth the splurge. Red snapper is a firm white fish with with a sweet, nutty taste.  It lends itself very well to a myriad of preparations and flavor pairings.

This recipe makes good use of end of summer zucchini and tomatoes and is good accompanied by  orzo tossed with olive oil, parsley and toasted pine nuts.

 

Snapper With Zucchini and Tomato

Recipe from Cooking Light July 2012
Serves 2

4 teaspoons olive oil, divided
Kosher salt
Black pepper
2 6-oz snapper fillets
2 tablespoons white wine or dry vermouth
1 cup diced zucchini
1 1/2 tablespoons minced shallots
1 teaspoon chopped fresh oregano
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
1 cup halved cherry tomatoes
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

1.  Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.  Add 1 teaspoon oil to pan; swirl to coat. Season fish with salt and pepper. Add fish to pan and cook 3 minutes on each side or until desired degree of doneness.  Remove fish from pan and keep warm.

2.  Add white wine to pan and cook until liquid almost evaporates.  At zucchini, shallots, oregano, lemon rind, 1 teaspoon oil and a pinch of salt. Saute 3 minutes or until zucchini is tender.

3. Combine zucchini mixture, tomato, pinch of salt, remaining teaspoon of oil, basil and lemon juice.
Toss gently and serve with fish.

COOK'S NOTE:

I used more than 1 teaspoon of olive oil to saute the fish. I used 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano instead of fresh, and I tend to season my food more liberally with salt and pepper than Cooking Light. In the last step I added the tomatoes to the saute pan to warm then the rest of the ingredients.

Pomodoro Crudo

"Everything you see, I owe to spaghetti." Sophia Loren

Spaghetti does not look the same on me as it does on Sophia Loren.  Nevertheless, I wait all year to make Spaghetti Pomodoro Crudo. August in New Jersey is the perfect time to make this quick and delicious  summer pasta. It is pure and simple. The quality of the tomatoes is paramount, and now is the time to use those farm stand or garden-grown perfectly ripe tomatoes.

For dinner tonight I cut three tomatoes horizontally, seeded them, and then cut them into smallish chunks. To them I added one clove of garlic, pressed, and a handful of basil cut up (or torn, if you like), some fresh mozzarella, and a couple of grinds of pepper. I then poured about 1/3 cup of extra virgin olive oil over everything. Covered, this sat on the counter until dinner time. The mixture needs salt, but I waited until about thirty minutes before using it to add the salt so that it didn't become too watery.  The sauce can sit out at room temperature for up to four hours. It's best to let it marinate for at least thirty minutes to an hour.

This sauce takes well to improvisation. So feel free to add whatever you might like--capers, hot pepper flakes, anchovies, olives--you get the idea.

Some use spaghetti in this recipe, but I prefer a pasta that can hold the sauce, such as orecchiette or shells.When the orecchiette ( I used 6 ounces for two servings) was cooked and drained, it was immediately added to the sauce. The heat from the just-cooked pasta began to soften the mozzarella and barely heated the tomatoes. Heaven. Be sure to have some crusty bread on hand to sop up the extra juices.

Green salads have seemed lackluster to me lately, so I made a cucumber and red onion salad. And it proved to be a cool counterpoint to the pasta.