Snapper with tomato, butter beans and oregano

Tamara West

This dish uses the juice of either cannellini or butter beans as a key part of the tasty sauce. Canned beans are completely fine here. The fish and sauce are both cooked in olive oil; if you have a choice you could use a lighter tasting one on the fish and a richer one for the sauce. I suggest making the sauce first then lightly cooking the fish so it’s perfectly done just as it gets to the plate.

Ingredients

3 Tbsp	Olive oil
6 cloves	Garlic, finely chopped
¼ cup	Fresh oregano, chopped
6 small	Tomatoes
¼ tsp	Salt
½ tsp	Pepper
1 cup	White beans, in juice, use cannellini or butter beans

Fish

¼ cup	Rolled oats
¼ tsp	Salt
2 small	Snapper fillets (Main)
1 Tbsp	Olive oil

Directions

1. Heat the 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a heavy pan on high heat, then add the garlic and oregano.
2. After only about 20 seconds when the garlic is very slightly browned, add the tomatoes, salt and pepper. Cook for about 5 minutes until the tomatoes are slightly breaking apart and releasing their juice
3. Add the white beans and stir. Get everything bubbling nicely then remove from the heat ready to serve.
4. For the fish, grind the rolled oats finely with the ¼ teaspoon of salt using a mortar and pestle or seed grinder. Place the ground oats on a plate and coat the fish all over.
5. Heat the remaining tablespoon of olive oil in a heavy pan on medium high heat, then place the fish in, smooth side down. Cook for 3-4 minutes without moving the fish to let a nice brown crust form on the bottom.
6. When the sides of the fish start going white, gently turn each piece over and cook for about another 30 seconds before removing from the pan. Slightly undercook the fish so it ends up just right from the heat remaining in it.
7. Serve the fish surrounded by the bean sauce, with perhaps a simple side salad of lettuce and cucumber.