It’s good to have friends, especially ones that eat a lot of fish and pass on the best recipes! This is fast but needs at least 15 minutes to marinate. Serves 4:
Fish with Broccoli Rabe and Tamarind
- 4 fish fillets (6 ounces each), such as snapper, cod, or salmon
- Salt and pepper
- ¼ cup tamarind purée or concentrate (find it at Asian grocery stores)
- 1 tablespoon molasses
- 1” piece fresh ginger, finely grated
- 2 garlic cloves, finely grated
- ½ cup unsweetened full fat coconut milk
- 3 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for drizzling
- 1 bunch scallions, trimmed
- 1 pound broccoli rabe, cut into 3” pieces
- ¼ cup chopped cilantro
- Steamed rice for serving
- 1 lime, sliced into wedges, for serving
Season both sides of the fish lightly with salt and pepper. In a large bowl, combine the tamarind purée, molasses, ginger, garlic, coconut cream, 1 tablespoon olive oil, ½ teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon pepper. Thinly slice 2 scallions and add to the marinade. Cut the remaining scallions into 1-inch pieces and set aside. Add the fish to the marinade and turn to coat. Refrigerate for at least 15 minutes and up to 12 hours.
Heat the oven to 450F°/230C°. In a large oven-safe skillet, combine the broccoli rabe and chopped scallions. Toss with 1 tablespoon oil and season lightly with salt and black pepper. Spread in an even layer, then place the fish right on top of the vegetables and pour any leftover marinade over the fish.
Roast until the fish is opaque but the center is not cooked through, 8 to 10 minutes, depending on thickness of the fish. The fish should not flake easily with a fork. Remove the pan from the oven and heat the broiler to high. Drizzle the remaining tablespoon of oil over the fish.
Move the pan to the broiler and finish cooking, rotating the pan once, until the fish is tender and flakes easily and the broccolini is just tender and beginning to brown in spots, 6 to 7 minutes. Remove the pan from the broiler and sprinkle the fish with chopped cilantro.
Pour the pan juices over the fish, serve over rice with lime wedges and enjoy!
My verdict:
This was really good and pretty simple. I didn’t have any molasses, so tossed in a tablespoon of dark brown sugar. Thought about pomegranate molasses and might use that the next time, so it wouldn’t be as sweet.
Broccoli rabe is getting easier to find here, but you could easily substitute regular broccoli, sliced bok choy or asparagus, if it’s around.
Any kind of fish fillets will work, just adjust the cooking time depending on the thickness. I used some local white fish, trying to expand my knowledge of French and fish and it was delicious.
