SEARED BLACKFISH WITH TOMATO WATER, HERBS AND OLIVES

Seared Blackfish With Tomato Water, Herbs and Olives image

Provided by Melissa Clark

Categories dinner, quick, weekday, main course

Time 20m

Yield Serves 4

Number Of Ingredients 11

Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds very ripe tomatoes, coarsely chopped 3 cups
1 small, bushy rosemary sprig, leaves and stem roughly chopped
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt, more as needed
4 blackfish fillets, or other firm white fish, 6 to 8 ounces each, pin bones removed
Black pepper
Pinch ground Turkish or Syrian chile pepper (like Urfa or Aleppo, available at most good spice or Middle Eastern food shops)
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, more for serving
1/2 cup pitted, chopped black olives
Mint leaves, torn, for garnish
Basil leaves, torn, for garnish
Flaky sea salt or fleur de sel, for serving

Steps:

To make the tomato water, line a colander with a thin dish towel and place it over a bowl. Put the tomatoes, rosemary and 1/4 teaspoon salt in the colander and mix and squash the mixture gently with your hands (the less you squash, the clearer the liquid will be). Refrigerate for 8 hours or leave it in a cool room for 4 hours. Cover and refrigerate the tomato water until ready to use, and reserve the tomatoes for making sauce.
Season the fish with salt, black pepper and chili pepper. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-low heat. Add the oil. After 1 minute, place the fillets in the skillet. Scatter the olives around the pan. Cook the fish, without moving it, for 5 minutes. Gently flip the fillets and cook until just opaque, 3 to 5 minutes.
Transfer the fillets and olives to a platter. Spoon a little of the tomato water over the fish and sprinkle with mint and basil. Top with a drizzle of olive oil and some flaky salt.

Nutrition Facts : @context http, Calories 364, UnsaturatedFat 15 grams, Carbohydrate 9 grams, Fat 20 grams, Fiber 3 grams, Protein 38 grams, SaturatedFat 3 grams, Sodium 400 milligrams, Sugar 4 grams