Fire Island-Style Roasted Bluefish
Bluefish is the pork shoulder of the sea. I think I'm the first to suggest that, because I Googled it, and no one else has said so. It's a ridiculous statement in that you'll likely not slow-smoke bluefish overnight and pull it apart with two forks. Still, bluefish is fatty stuff and takes to more assertive preparations--like the garlic, onion, bell pepper barrage it gets in this recipe. When super-fresh, bluefish is intoxicatingly rich in texture and among the most satisfying of seafoods. Blues are found along the Atlantic coast, with a lot of folks from Jersey and New York fishing them for recreation. Ask your fishmonger for something similar if you can't get your hands on just-caught bluefish.
How to Make It
Preheat your oven to 475°.
Toss the bell peppers, the onion, and the garlic with the olive oil.
Lay two sheets of foil, each large enough to wrap a fillet with some room for steam space, on a clean counter.
Spray the sheets with cooking spray.
Lay down the bluefish fillets. Season with salt. Rub it in. Gently. With your fingers.
Lay an even blanket of the bell pepper mixture on each fish fillet. Use a rubber spatula to scrape every last drop of olive oil onto the fillets.
Lay down some basil over the peppers.
Decoratively layer the lemons on the fillet.
Wrap the foil packets.
Place the packets on a roasting pan and bake for 18 minutes or until the fish flakes easily with a fork, depending upon the thickness of the fish. A safe bet is to simply allow the fish to rest after taking it out of the oven for an additional 5 minutes or so, both to allow the steam to subside a bit and to ensure that the fish and vegetables are cooked through.
Cooking Light Mad Delicious
