nicoise fish with edamame farro feta salad

nicoise fish with edamame farro feta salad

• 8.02.2017

I had a bunch of ladies over for dinner one night recently. I was racking my brain a bit to figure out the optimal menu for the occasion. When we go out to a restaurant, we often all end up getting burgers - but that just didn't feel right for a fun summer girls night. I debated kabobs or chicken but those either seemed like a lot of effort or just a bit weak for some fun lady time.

So, we landed on my favorite fall back - a simple white fish dinner. So good. I went straight to Food52 and found this recipe but modified it a bit to make it even easier. While I love a good seared fish (like this baby), baked fish is so incredibly easy especially when you are having guests. You really just put it in the oven ... and then take it out.

Not to beat a statement down even further, but this meal is incredibly easy to make. Here are a few notes:

• Time // All of the prep is complete in less than 5 minutes. 5 minutes! I spent the most amount of time picking out red and yellow tomatoes to make sure the meal was colorful. 
• Farro // I am a huge fan of farro these days - and this was a great side for the dish. It only takes about 30 minutes to cook but super hands-off. You don't have to measure any water like for rice or quinoa - just treat it like a pasta.
• Alternate prep // The next time I make this meal I could absolutely see myself using the same ingredients but differently. I could sear the fish with a good crust and then sauté the tomato olive mixture in a pan. A good blister on the tomatoes would be nice.

Here's how it goes.

1. Preheat the oven to 375F.
2. Combine the tomatoes, olives, and capers in a bowl. 
3. Grate the garlic using a hand grater onto a cutting board or bowl. Sprinkle heavily with kosher and combine into a paste then mix in olive oil. This might be a bit confusing but trust me it's worth it. When you are done just mix into the tomato/olive mixture to help distribute the garlic all over everything.
4. Pat the fish dry. Season well with salt and pepper on both sides.
5. Drizzle olive oil in the bottom of your baking dish and then arrange your fish fillets so they all have a bit of room. Pour the tomato/olive mixture over the fish. Squeeze a bit of lemon juice over the baking dish.
6. Bake the fish for about 15-25 minutes depending on filet thickness. You'll know its done when the fish flakes easily. 
7. Plate the fish over the grain of choice (farro for me) and serve with a lemon wedge.

Farro Side

1. Cook the farro as directed on the package
2. Add in feta and edamame
3. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with some sea salt for flavor.

Shopping List

1 cup halved cherry tomatoes
1/2 cup coarsely chopped, pitted Kalamata olives
2 tablespoons capers, drained
2 6-ounce cod (or other) fish fillets, 1 to 1 1/2 inches thick
Kosher salt
Freshly cracked black pepper
2-3 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic, grated
1 lemon, halved, plus more for serving

Farro Side
Farro
Feta
Edamame