Braised fish with cauliflower, zucchini & green beans 

My husband loves fish and I like to make either a fish or seafood dish once a week.  This combination was new for me – based on the vegetables I had on hand in the fridge.

Expectations:

Chopping the veggies takes about 3 or 4 minutes at most.

The actual prep and braising of the fish fillets is quick, I had yellow tail fillets for this, relatively thin and they were ready within 8 minutes of braising.  Every fish is a little different, the rule of thumb is 10 minutes of cooking time per inch — I like to check fillets at the 6 or 7 minute mark to see how they’re progressing.  Fish cooks fast and well, overcooked fish is dry (= not nearly as nice).

This serves 4 people, we ended up having more fish than needed which I saved for a snack for my husband.

Total time: 20 – 25 minutes.

Ingredients:

Olive or other vegetable oil.

1 to 1 1/2 pounds of fish fillets seasoned with salt and pepper (i.e. cod, halibut, yellowtail)

Fish fillets seasoned with salt and pepper

Liquid for braising (1/2 cup of olive brine, vegetable broth or mild white wine).

1 large zucchini cut into thin rounds.

1 to 1 1/2 cups of green beans (tough stem ends on each side trimmed off).

1 to 1 1/2 cups of cauliflower florets.

Salt and pepper to taste.

Optional: grape tomatoes for the kids. About 1/4 cup for each grape tomato eater.

Steps to put this on your table:

• Warm up olive (or vegetable oil) in a large, wide saucepan over medium high heat.
• Chop your vegetables — I used cauliflower, green beans, zucchini and grape tomatoes to serve on the side for the kids.

Chopped cauliflower, zucchini, green beans & grape tomatoes

• Start by sautéing your cauliflower, it takes the longest to cook.  At the 5 minute point, add your green beans and sauté for another 2 minutes.  Then add your zucchini for another 1 or 2 minutes of cooking, until it begins to wilt a bit and soften.

Sautéing the cauliflower

• Remove the vegetables and add them to your plates.  If you’re making this over the cous cous , place on top the cous cous.  These also work well over spinach or arugula as a salad.
• Add the brine (or other liquid) to the pan. Increase the heat slightly to bring the liquid to a boil.
• Place the fish into the pan, cover, reduce heat and let simmer for about 6 to 7 minutes, use a fork to check for doneness (when fish is opaque down to the base, and flakes easily). If not done, cook another 2 to 4 minutes (usually takes 10 minutes for 1 inch thick fillets).
• Place the fish on top of the cous cous (if using) and veggies. Cut small pieces for the kids (that eat fish).
• Enjoy!

Lots of veggies I know but yummy as a salad

Cauliflower, green beans and zucchini pair nicely with braised fish fillets.