Doesn't feel like it's clean: oven poached fish

Ok, ragazzi, this one is for Emily,  Annalena's first trainer.  It's only fair:  yesterday you got a ridiculously rich brownie recipe.  Today, you're getting a very light - but very GOOD fish recipe, courtesy of Martha Rose Schulman, who writes a column for the Times  called "Recipe for Health." It is only on line, unfortunately for you paper readers, but give it a look.

Annalena had bought a pound of hake from Shakyamuni Karlin and Prem Morris (Wade and Jan), and was planning to do some kind of saute' .  She happened onto the Times food section, and saw that Ms. Schulman (who is a professional cookbook writer, and a damn good one.  Annalena uses her books constantly), had dedicated a week to using white fish and shellfish.  Essentially, the recipes were along the theme of a simple, low fat cooking technique for the fish, coupled with a very flavorful sauce.  Indeed, had Annalena  bought clams, she would have made the recipe with hot red sauce.  But hake seemed to fall within the confines of the white fish recipe that Ms. Schulman had posted, for other white fish, so Annalena gave it a try.  Let us just say that the  Guyman and Annalena ate well.

Now, "oven poached."  Think about that for a minute.  How can you poach fish in the oven?  And why would you?

Well, Annalena will explain the latter, and she will explain Ms Schulman's technique, which is brilliant.  You want to poach in the oven, because anyone who has ever tried to remove a poached fish fillet from a pot will know that there is a lot of anguish and difficulty in trying to get it right.  The way you do it in the oven is similar to the technique you use for making crispy bread:  you put boiling water in the oven while the fish is cooking, and then, you get poached fish.  Absolutely brilliant.

Ok, so let's get cooking.  Set your oven to 300.  Yup, 300. Before you do that, set the racks in your oven  so that a pot can sit on the lower rack, and you have room for a baking sheet above.  The acute reader will recognize that 300 is the temperature we used when we poached fish in olive oil a few weeks ago.  "Low and slow."

So, bring a pot of plain, unsalted water to the boil, and while that's happening, line a baking sheet, either with foil, or parchment.  Foil is better here, but either will work.  If you use the foil, brush some oil on it.  Rinse and dry your fish fillets:  any white fish of some thickness will do - and then sprinkle both sides liberally with salt and pepper, before you put them on the sheet.

Now, slide the thing into the oven, on the top rack, and let this cook for at least 15-20 minutes.  Don't peek before 15.   Then, check with a knife, to see if the fish is tender and flaky at the center,  and cooked to your liking.  It could be 15, it could be 20, and it could be 30 minutes.  So much depends on what you like, and how thick your fish is.

Ms. Schulman serves this fish with a green, tomatillo sauce, and if you look on this site, Annalena does give you several "salsa verde" s; however, this time around, she used her favorite from American Spoon. If the green sauce isn't giving you chills, then use something else.  But do use something, because the fish can use the flavor boost.

A six ounce portion of this fish (the Guyman and Annalena ate 8 ounce portions), is 158 calories, and has no added fat.  That gives you time to play with the other components of your meal, if you like.  Maybe you can even have a chocolate cheesecake brownie, if your trainer allows it  :).

Okay, ragazzi,  tomorrow, perhaps we go back to rich and fatty.  Annalena has a bread pudding recipe she really wants to share with you.  A domani.