Roast Fish With Chickpeas Ginger Food

HERB-ROASTED FISH

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
• Place the fish fillet on a piece of parchment paper and sprinkle it with the salt and pepper. Drizzle the lemon juice and olive oil over the top of the fillet. Lay the thyme on top and place the olives next to the fillet.
• Beat the egg together with 1 tablespoon of water for an egg wash. Brush the egg wash around the edge of the parchment paper and fold it in half. Carefully fold the edge of the parchment paper under and around the fish to make a package. Place the package on a sheet pan and cook for 12 to 15 minutes, until the fish is cooked through. Serve hot in the parchment paper.

SHEET-PAN ROASTED FISH WITH SWEET PEPPERS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 400 degrees. Pull 1 tablespoon thyme leaves off the bunch and finely chop.
• Season fish all over with a large pinch or two of salt and pepper and rub with chopped thyme leaves. Let rest at room temperature while you prepare peppers.
• Spread peppers on a rimmed sheet pan, and toss with 1 1/2 tablespoons oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt and the black pepper to taste. Top peppers with the remaining thyme sprigs. Roast, tossing occasionally, until peppers are softened and golden at the edges, 15 to 20 minutes.
• Increase oven temperature to 500 degrees. Push peppers to the edges of the pan, clearing a space in the center. Lay fish out on that empty space and drizzle with oil. Scatter olives over the top of fish and peppers. Roast until fish turns opaque and is just cooked through, 6 to 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, make a vinaigrette by combining vinegar, garlic and a pinch of salt in a bowl. Whisk in remaining 3 tablespoons olive oil, then whisk in parsley. Taste and add more salt or vinegar, or both, if needed. Serve fish and peppers drizzled with vinaigrette.

WHOLE ROAST FISH WITH LEMONGRASS AND GINGER

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 425 degrees. Pat the body and inside of the fish dry, and space the fish evenly apart on an unlined sheet pan. Using a sharp knife, cut two diagonal slits, 2 inches apart, into the skin of each fish, making sure not to cut through to the bone. Repeat the slits on the other side. Drizzle both sides and the inside of the fish with 3 tablespoons oil, and season with the 1 1/2 tablespoons salt.
• Working in batches if necessary, transfer the lemongrass to the bowl of an asanka or a mortar. Use the pestle to pound the lemongrass pieces until crushed and fragrant. Move the crushed pieces to one side of the mortar bowl or the asanka. Add the ginger pieces and repeat the pounding process until they're crushed. Combine the ginger and the lemongrass. Add the scallion greens and scotch bonnet chile. Use the pestle to crush and combine these with the lemongrass mixture. Add the shallot and zest of 1 lemon, crush and combine with the pestle. Stir in the turmeric and coconut milk. (Makes about 1 1/4 cup marinade.) Alternatively, you can do this step in a food processor. Add in the ingredients in the order listed, and pulse them all together. Stir in the turmeric and coconut milk.
• Slice the zested lemon into 3 or 4 rounds. Spread the marinade generously over both sides of each fish and about 2 tablespoons into each cavity. Place a lemon slice, the white end of a scallion and some cilantro sprigs in each cavity. (At this point, the fish can be left to marinate for up to 30 minutes, or covered and refrigerated overnight.) Drizzle the tops of the fish with the remaining oil.
• Roast the fish until firm and cooked through, rotating the sheet pan once halfway through the process, about 22 to 25 minutes. Slice the remaining lemon into wedges. Serve the fish over steamed rice or alongside a hearty salad, with the lemon wedges for squeezing.

BRAISED COD WITH CHICKPEAS

Steps:

• If canned chickpeas are used, rinse and drain them. Combine the cooked or canned chickpeas in a saucepan with the garlic, peppers or flakes, 3 tablespoons of the olive oil, and 1/4 cup of water. Bring the liquid to a simmer, cover the pot, and simmer for 20 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
• Remove and discard the whole peppers, if you used them. Add the cumin to the chickpeas and spread half the mixture in the bottom of a 9-inch-square baking dish. Place the fish on top, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and finish with the remaining chickpeas. Drizzle the remaining 3 tablespoons of olive oil over the top. Cover and bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes, until the fish is just flaky but not falling apart; check after 20 minutes.
• Serve the fish hot or warm, garnished with cilantro or parsley and lemon wedges.