Baked Fish With Slow-Cooked Peppers
Updated Sept. 4, 2024
- Total Time
- 50 minutes
- Prep Time
- 10 minutes
- Cook Time
- 40 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 4boneless (skin-on or skinless) fillets of striped bass or halibut (about 2 pounds)
- Salt and black pepper
- ½teaspoon coriander seeds
- ½teaspoon fennel seeds
- 1teaspoon lemon zest (from 1 lemon)
- 2tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, for greasing the pan
- 3tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1large onion, sliced into ¼-inch-thick half-moons
- 6bell peppers in a mix of colors, sliced ¼-inch thick
- 4garlic cloves, minced
- ½teaspoon smoked paprika
- ⅛teaspoon ground cayenne
- 1tablespoon chopped Italian parsley
- 1tablespoon snipped chives
For the Fish
For the Peppers
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)
442 calories; 23 grams fat; 4 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 14 grams monounsaturated fat; 4 grams polyunsaturated fat; 17 grams carbohydrates; 5 grams dietary fiber; 9 grams sugars; 43 grams protein; 1086 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Season fish on both sides with salt and pepper. Using a spice mill or a mortar and pestle, grind coriander and fennel seeds to a powder. Combine with lemon zest, then rub mixture into each fillet. (At this point, you can cook right away or refrigerate for up to 4 hours, then bring to room temperature to cook.)
- Step 2
Prepare the peppers: Set a Dutch oven or wide, heavy pot over medium-high heat. Add 3 tablespoons olive oil. When the oil looks wavy, add onion and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring, until onion begins to brown and soften, about 5 minutes. Add the sliced peppers with a good pinch of salt and the garlic, paprika and cayenne, and turn heat to medium. Simmer with lid ajar, stirring occasionally, until mixture thickens, about 15 minutes more. (Peppers should be quite soft and cooking them down may take up to 30 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning along the way.) Set aside and let steep. (You can make the peppers hours or up to a day ahead and keep refrigerated.)
- Step 3
To cook fish, heat oven to 375 degrees and set a large cast-iron pan over medium heat. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil and swirl to coat the bottom of the pan. Lay fish in pan in one layer and cook for 4 to 5 minutes. Flip fillets with a spatula and carefully set the pan in the oven, uncovered. Bake for 3 to 5 minutes, until the fish is firm and beginning to flake. Sprinkle fish with parsley and chives, and serve with the peppers.
Private Notes
Comments
No way would I heat my oven, in summer, to 375 to cook the fish for 3-5 minutes. Just continue cooking in cast iron skillet and add peppers back in. Maybe the texture would be a bit different but delicious as well. This is how I cook all the time.
Very good. I’d give 4.5 stars. Hacks: cooked the fish in the big skillet on top of the vegetables. No need to dirty another pan, and the fat from the fish melds nicely into a sauce with the veg. Added some golden raisins to the mixture. Skipped the cayenne. Chives were not necessary.
We loved the amount of cayenne. One man's food is another's poison I guess. I didn't get the need for an oven, either. Was NYT just trying to be ultra-gastronomical by complicating the process with ovens, cast iron pans, double cooking fish... please, for goodness sake, KISS!
Had some halibut in my freezer I needed to use - this was a great and easy way to go! I was glad to see others did the pan shortcut, my instinct as well. After cooking the peppers 15 minutes in a large deep pan, I pushed them to the side and seared the fish in the center with 1 tbsp of oil. After cooking the first side for 5 minutes, I spread the onions and peppers back around and flipped the filets to rest on top, put the lid on, and cooked for another 4 minutes. Perfection! When I make again, I’ll amp up the cayenne a bit. A little more heat would be welcome.
This is one of those dishes that is both super delicious and not complicated. I used rockfish (live on the west coast), and arranged it in an oval ceramic casserole and baked it. Funny thing, with the oven preheated, and about to put the fish in to bake, we had a power outage, so the fish “slow roasted” for 15 minutes and was perfect. This is a “back pocket” recipe to put on repeat.
I also would give the recipe a 4.5. Split the difference on the cayenne, 1/4tsp just right for us. Cool September evening made the 4" in the oven no problem. Wondered about adding capers? kalamata olives? into the stewed peppers would enhance or over-complicate the flavors. I'll never get used to how much more time and mess NYTs recipes take. But the payoff is almost always worth it.