By request: a bit of t his, a bit of that and you have dinner

When I took the hiatus from writing this blog, a few readers told me that what they really would like to see is some kind of account of "what did you make for dinner last night?" That was very interesting to me, because when I first started writing, I thought that that was, indeed what I was going to do. As I went along, even as early as the second week, it dawned on me that I, too, fall into the category of people who really have just about fifteen recipes that they make, over and over again. Not that there's anything wrong with that, and in fact, if you like the recipes, there's everything RIGHT about it (not politically, but morally). So when I would make one of my basic recipes, but with a few variations, I wouldn't write it down, thinking "who wants that?" Well, "vox populi," so to speak. So here is something that fits in with a bunch of the ideas that I write about: seasonality, simplicity, and being a bit "creative."
Striped bass, for all of its appearance on menus throughout the year, is a seasonal fish. WILD striped bass I mean. You can get farmed striped bass year round, and if you're willing to eat fish that can travel hundreds, or even thousands of miles before it gets to your plate, you can have it whenever you want. But in NYC, wild striped bass has a season that will be ending soon. During season, it is so plentiful that I tend to say "no, next week, when the tuna doesn't look so good," or something like that. Then it's gone and I think "I should have made more striped bass." So, last night, we were having a filet of the stuff. I like to bake this fish, and I was looking for a way to make it taste really, really good. As I rifled through the fridge, and, somewhat coincidentally, was writing about pesto, I had an idea. And it turned out to be a good one.

I have pesto in the freezer. Tons of it. And I forget it's there, too. Well, pesto is mostly olive oil, and when you bake fish, you're always taught to anoint it with oil. I also had some underripe cherry tomatoes.
The days of sunripened, full flavored tomatoes are over. They're still good, but to bring out their flavor really strongly, they need some help. I had the yellow ones, so they were also pretty.

Months ago, I wrote about the technique of cooking fish "en papillote," or as we do it here, wrapped in foil. That somehow seemed "right" to me. And the recipe came together.

If this is an old recipe, and it may very well be, I came to it independently. I take no credit for it, as I want everyone to cook everything, but as per request, this is what we ate last night.

You'll need about three tablespoons of basil pesto, without any cheese in it. Also, about a cup of cherry tomatoes, cut in half. This doesn't take as long as you might think it will, and if you remain unconvinced, then don't cut them. The dish will still be fine. You also need (DUH), a nice pound or so of striped bass fillet. I had it in one piece, but if you have two smaller ones, or four small ones, by all means, use them. Just distribute everything over four packets instead of one.

Get a large piece of foil for each fillet you have, and smear a bit of pesto on the foil. Lay the fish on top of that pesto, and then salt and pepper it. Then, smear a bit of pesto over each fillet, and toss some of the sliced or whole tomatoes into it. Seal the packets tightly, and lay them on a baking sheet. Put the whole thing in a 425 degree, preheated oven, and let them cook for about 10 minutes if you have small ones, 15 minutes if they're about a half pound each, and 20 for a pound fillet.

Remove the baking sheet, and very CAREFULLY open the foil. There will be a lot of liquid. Use a pancake flipper or other flat serving implement, and remove the fish to the plates you'll eat from. Pick up whatever tomatoes are left and spread them over the fish as well. I don't use the liquid (a sin, I know), but you could pour this over the fish, or whatever starch you're serving, if you like.

This is actually a variation of a dish that I learned years ago, using, of all things, mayonnaise instead of pesto. You can in fact vary the "sauce" you use, as long as it has a very fatty or oily base, and of course, you can change the vegetables if they are cut small . Leeks would be a good choice here, at this time of year, as would be carrots. Finely shopped peppers, while they're stil around would work. Use your imagination "that's what it's for" as Madonna says.

Ok, now to the plotting and scheming for next dinner