26 Jan Slow Roasted Whitefish with Zesty Cilantro
Making fish doesn’t have to cause a stink. Zesty lemon, fresh cilantro and roasted sweet potatoes make this bowl a healthy & easy meal.
We live in a tiny downtown apartment, and I get a bit stressed out when I cook food that has the potential to stink up the place. No one wants to come home to a house that smells like re-heated brussel sprouts, or worse: fish.
But then I read the book JGV, and at one point Jean-Georges discusses how to cook fish without the smell. Besides buying fresh, good quality fish, Jean-Georges says that it’s critical to keep the temperature low when cooking fish to avoid that fishy-stink and taste. A too-high of temperature will ruin any good fish, and will cause your kitchen to stink.
Keeping the oven at a low 300F, any fish can cook in about 10-30 minutes, depending on it’s thickness and what you’re cooking it in. For this recipe, the two large fillets of haddock took about 12 minutes to cook, and the house only smelled of freshly zested lime. I absolutely love cooking fish “low and slow”, the clean up is a breeze and the fish comes out flakey & fresh without any fishy taste.
Haddock Bowl with Creamy Cilantro Sauce
Nutrition per portion
Ingredients
- 2 sweet potatoes
- 2 Tablespoons avocado oil
- 1/2 teaspoon Aleppo pepper, or 1/4 teaspoon cayenne
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 lime
- 1 bunch cilantro
- 1 garlic clove
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup coconut milk
- 2 haddock fillets
Method
- Begin by roasting the sweet potatoes. Heat the oven to 400F. Peel & chop the sweet potatoes into 1/2 inch cubes. Toss in the avocado oil, pepper, salt and paprika. Bake on a rimmed baking sheet for 20 minutes.
- While the sweet potatoes are baking, begin making the cilantro lime sauce. Wash and zest a lime, and add the zest and juice to a blender. Roughly chop the cilantro, and add to the blender also, along with the garlic and the salt. Pour in the coconut milk and blend until smooth.
- Pour the cilantro sauce into a baking dish that is large enough to fit the haddock fillets. Nestle the fillets into the baking dish in a single layer.
- When the sweet potatoes are done cooking, turn the oven down to 300F. You may need to keep the oven door open for a minute to cool it down.
- When the over is 300F, pop the baking dish with the haddock into the centre rack. Cook for 10 minutes, and then test for doneness using a metal cake tester or a straightened paper clip. Poke the metal tip into the thickest part of the fish fillet, hold it there for 10 seconds, and then gently press the metal rod against your lower lip. If it feels warm, the fish is done. If if feels cool, continue cooking the fillet, checking for doneness every 4-5 minutes.
- Serve the fillet with the roasted sweet potatoes, and some of the pan sauce. Try serving on a bed of rice if you're eating grains.
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