Mediterranean-Style Cod

So after a weekend of indulgence, back to the diet.  The recipe is from the Belly-Off Diet and dinner tonight was better than expected!  So we are really trying to branch out and try some recipes that we have not.  First off, Julie and I are a little leery of cooking fish.  We both like fish, I think it is just a confidence level.  We don't cook fish very much, so we don't think we do it very well.  Well tonight, we done good!

The fish was really flavorful.  We kept trying to figure out where the flavor came from, but it was in there, let me tell you.  The fish was moist and just really tasted great.  The fennel was a nice change and the tapenade was really good too.  For the tapenade, we couldn't find any the grocery store, (we looked a few places before deciding to just make our owe) so we just chopped up about 1/2 cup green olives, 1/2 cup black olives, 1 tablespoon olive oil, and 1 teaspoon lemon juice.  Mix it up and you are good to go.  We really enjoyed how this all worked out.

One thing we would change is the tomatoes.  Neither of us are huge tomato fans.  Those of you who know me will attest to how much I like tomatoes or as a sometimes refer to them- "the devil fruit."  They were a bit too big and it was just basically eating whole tomatoes, which was a bit rough.  I did eat quite a few of them, all you haters, but it was a bit too much.  I think next times, and there will be a next time, we will use fennel and onion and maybe a red pepper instead of the tomato.  But overall, really loved this!

Also we just used rice with a few pine nuts and dried basis instead of the couscous, because we wanted to use what we had on hand.


Ingredients       

• 1 pint cherry tomatoes
• 1/2 bulb fennel or yellow onion, sliced thin
• 1/2 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• Salt and pepper
• 2 tablespoons prepared olive tapenade
• 2 cod, halibut, or snapper fillets (6 ounces each)

Directions

1.

Preheat the oven to 400°F.

2.

Lay the tomatoes and fennel or onion in a baking dish and toss with the olive oil, salt, and pepper. Slather 1 tablespoon of the tapenade on each fish fillet and lay the fillets in the baking dish with the vegetables. Place the dish in the oven.

3.

Roast for 10 to 12 minutes, until the tomatoes are soft and the flesh of the fish flakes with gentle pressure from your finger.

4.

Serve each fillet with 1/2 cup prepared couscous mixed with 2 tablespoons toasted pine nuts and chopped fresh basil