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When I first started cooking, fish was a mystery to me. It tasted delicious in a restaurant, but whenever I tried to cook it at home, it either stuck to my pan, turned rubbery, or both. It was frustrating because not only is seafood expensive where I live, but there’s nothing worse than reading a recipe that sounds amazing, only to be majorly disappointed with the results.
I’ve since learned that cooking fish is actually easy if you know the right technique, and in certain cases, such as this baked flounder dish, the only thing you really have to worry about is not overcooking the fish.
Sourcing Ingredients. The first step towards making an excellent dish is finding the right ingredients. Especially in a dish that has only a few ingredients, such as this one, you want to make sure you’re buying the highest quality products you can find.
Start with the fish. Depending on where you are located, your options for high quality seafood may not be plentiful. When buying fish, you should seek out a place that sells the freshest fish available in your area. A local fish market is generally going to be a better choice than just picking up a package from your supermarket’s seafood case.
Fresh fish should be firm and dry, and should smell clean and briny, not fishy. It should remind you of the ocean. If you’re looking at filets that are slimy or grayish in color, you should buy elsewhere. You should buy fish on the day you plan on cooking it, no matter where you buy it. You can use it the next day if you must, but any longer than that and you risk losing quality and flavor, in addition to increasing your risk of foodborne illness.
Store the fish in the coldest part of your refrigerator until you are ready to use it. You can freeze it if you’d like, but thaw in the refrigerator for several hours before cooking.
For this recipe, you’ll be using fresh tomatoes, which are best purchased in season from a local source. You want them to taste sweet and jammy when baked, not mealy and watery like a lot of grocery store tomatoes taste. If you can’t get local in season tomatoes, canned are a better option. Cherry tomatoes work best in this recipe, as they will respond nicely to the high heat. Store fresh tomatoes at room temperature for best flavor and texture; never in the fridge.
Use fresh basil leaves, and the juice from an actual lemon instead of the juice from those little plastic lemons. It will make a huge difference in flavor.
Cooking Tips. With few exceptions, fish cooks very quickly. Perfectly cooked fish is light and delicate and flakes easily with a fork. It’s opaque, and not difficult to cut into. It doesn’t matter where you source your fish; if you overcook it, you’ll ruin it. Overcooked fish is dry, rubbery, and tasteless.
Fish should be cooked until the internal temperature is 145 degrees F. If you are not experienced in cooking fish, you should get a thermometer and test it in the thickest part of the filet to ensure it’s cooked properly.
Serving. When your flounder is done baking, take it from the oven and let it rest for a few minutes. This allows the residual heat to finish cooking the fish, and helps it to firm up. It will also keep the hot tomatoes from burning your mouth when you take a bite.
Serve the fish with lots of chopped fresh basil and lemon wedges, and make sure you have plenty of fresh ground black pepper as well.
In general, delicate fish doesn’t make good leftovers, due mostly to the fact that reheating it may cause it to overcook. If you have leftovers, store them in an airtight container in the fridge. Eat them within a day or two, and heat on a low setting in the microwave, just until the fish is warm enough to avoid overcooking.
Variations. If you’d like to try this cooking technique a different way, there are a few ways to vary the recipe. First, you can change the type of fish if you’d like. Any delicate white fish filet should work fine. A meatier fish such as salmon or swordfish may overpower the delicate flavors of the lemon and basil. Shrimp would work nicely here as well.
You can also use any type of citrus you’d like; lime would work particularly well. Other fresh herbs would be a nice change, so try cilantro or mint if you’ve got an abundance. Feel free to play around with the flavors and types of fish until you find a favorite.
Baked Flounder with Tomatoes and Fresh Basil
Serves 4
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes
Ingredients:
4 flounder fillets
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 lemons
1 bunch fresh basil leaves, slivered
Sea salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste
Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
Put the fish filets and cherry tomatoes in a baking dish and drizzle with the olive oil. Sprinkle on the garlic and season with salt and pepper. Juice 1 of the lemons and drizzle the juice over the fish. Cut the other lemon into wedges and set aside.
Bake for 8-10 minutes, until fish has reached an internal temperature of 145 degrees. Remove from oven and allow to rest for 5 minutes.
Sprinkle with the fresh basil and serve the fish and tomatoes with the lemon wedges on the side.
What is your favorite way to cook fish?