Some foods are best left to the professionals. Croissants. Mortadella.Turkey burgers topped with foie gras and truffle-mornay sauce.
The weird thing is, I used to put fish in that category, too. It just never occurred to me to cook it at home, even though I love eating it, and am more than willing to order it at restaurants.
But then I signed up for a weekly farmer's market box fromQuinciple. And every so often, I'd get a frozen fillet of some delicious, sustainably raised fish. I had no choice. I had to cook the thing.
问题是,我不是幻想。我想拍一个鱼d吗ry with paper towels? Sear it until crispy-skinned and tender-fleshed? Then figure out a side dish? What am I, a chef? Who has the time?
So I started thinking about another insanely easy, one-pan way of cooking something delicate. I started thinking aboutshakshuka.
Shakshuka ismore a method than a recipe—it's an endlessly adaptable strategy for simmering delicate eggs in tomato sauce (often with chickpeas or vegetables added). So I got to thinking. Why not use that shashuka strategy for something equally delicate: Fresh fish?
So I got to work. I sauteed a base of onion and garlic until golden, then added a couple chopped tomatoes, a squirt of harissa paste, and a splash of water, and let it cook until it started to simmer. Tomatoey shakshuka base? Check. Then I treated my fish filets just like eggs, delicately nestling them in the tomato base and covering the pan to let the fish steam to tenderness. It only took about 10 minutes to get there.
And that's about it. I peeked a couple times and nudged the fish in the center with a fork to double-check it was done: it was opaque and easy to flake. And even easier to clean up.
