Baked White Fish and Vegetables
The juiciest, most tender baked white fish with vegetables, using just about any firm white fish that you'd like - cod, tilapia, haddock, bass, catfish, grouper, etc. The fish is baked in between layers of onion, carrots, celery, peppers, tomatoes and fresh herbs.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 70 minutes
- Total Time: 100 minutes
- Yield: 6 1x
- Category: Main Course
Ingredients
Scale
- 2 1/2 lbs of firm white fish (tilapia, swai, cod, etc)
- 2 - 3 Tablespoons oil (grape seed (avocado, olive, sunflower, etor butter)
- 2 large onions (sliced)
- 3-4 carrots (grated)
- 2-3 celery stalks (sliced)
- 4 to matoes (seeded and grated or chopped)
- 1 large bell pepper (julienned)
- 3-5 garlic cloves (minced)
- salt (ground black pepper)
- 1-2 Tablespoon mayonnaise (sour cream or yogurt, optional)
- 1/2 - 1 Tablespoon fresh parsley (dill, basil, minced)
Instructions
- Cut the fish into smaller pieces and blot it dry with a paper towel to get rid of excess moisture.
- Heat about 1/2 - 1 Tablespoon of oil in a nonstick skillet over high heat, season the fish on both sides with salt, ground black pepper and any combination of your favorite seasonings.
- Cook the fish for about 2-3 minutes per side. It should still be partly raw in the center. Cook the fish in batches until it's all partly cooked. Transfer the fish to a plate while you prepare the vegetables.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Prep all the veggies. Peel and halve the onions, and then thinly slice them. Peel the garlic and then mince them or use a garlic press. Peel and grate the carrots, thinly slice the celery and julienne the bell pepper. Remove the seeds from the tomatoes and grate the tomatoes on a box grater. Instead of grating the tomatoes, you can put them through the food processor or blender, or even chop the tomatoes.If you don't have fresh tomatoes, you can use canned diced tomatoes, tomato puree, or tomato sauce.
- Heat another Tablespoon of butter or oil on medium high heat and add the onions, carrots and celery to the skillet. Season with salt and ground black pepper. Cook for 5-7 minutes, until the vegetables soften.
- Add the bell pepper, tomatoes and garlic. Season with salt and pepper as well and more dry herbs and seasoning that you like. Cook for another 8-10 minutes. Add the fresh herbs once the vegetables are off the stove.
- Spread half of the vegetables on the bottom of the baking dish that you will be using. Place a layer of fish over the vegetables. Spread the remaining vegetables over the fish.
- Spread a thin layer of mayonnaise, sour cream or yogurt over the vegetables. This step is completely optional.
- Cover the baking dish with a lid or aluminum foil and bake in the preheated oven for about 30-40 minutes. We are basically heating it all up evenly all the way through to the center, and then only waiting for the fish to cook through, which doesn't take long at all. The vegetables are already cooked.
Notes
You can do all the prep work ahead of time, assemble the fish and vegetables in the baking dish and store in the refrigerator until you're ready to bake it. In that case, you will need to bake this dish longer, 40-50 minutes.