Extra Virgin Olive Oil, White Wine & Fresh Lemon Juice

Between the fish stalls at the Market along with Bert’s in Madison Park when we are in town and the Vashon Thriftway out on the island, I like to make us fish at least once a week for supper, if possible. I used to find cooking fish daunting, always concerned about either over or under cooking it. I came up with a simple way to bake/poach fish, with sea bass, halibut and cod some favorites. It is a mix-up between things I have seen on cooking shows, food magazines we get monthly and blog recipes I have read. 3 simple ingredients–extra virgin olive oil, white wine (I prefer a Sauvignon Blanc) and fresh squeezed lemon juice. Plus salt but that to me is always a given. Here is what I do.

In a baking pan or dish a bit larger that the fish you are going to cook, pour the white wine to just cover the entire surface of the dish. It will be a few splashes of wine, not much really. Lay the fish in the dish on top of the wine. Then douse the fish with extra virgin olive oil, then salt. Lastly, squeeze the juice of a good sized lemon over the fish. The olive oil, salt, white wine and lemon juice will mix a bit naturally and become a poaching liquid for the fish.

Put into a hot 375 degree oven. Spoon over the liquid onto the fish every 5 to 10 minutes to keep the top nice and moist. The fish will vary on cooking time by how thick it is and the density of the variety. If you press your finger in the middle it will have some give. I almost always cut into the middle of the piece to just double check. When done, quite a bit of the liquid will have evaporated and what you have left over certainly spoon over the fish when serving if you like, or not. The fish will be super moist and you will wonder why you ever doubted yourself when it comes to cooking fish.