Baked Fish with Vegetables

Nana, Mom, and Sheryl

As a child, I hated all types of fish except those that were battered, breaded, deep fried and covered in ketchup. Give me fish sticks till the end of the earth! I also loved those Gorton's beer battered cod fillets. They were so good with ketchup, LOTS of ketchup. As far as I was concerned, that is how they came out of the ocean, already slathered in ketchup.

 

We used to go to a restaurant in Mullica Hill, NJ, by the name of the Hilltop Restaurant. It was a small diner/café type place. Mom would drag us around town antiquing till she was ready to drop. We hated it but were rewarded with lunch and I had my FAVORITE meal, fried clam strips with lots of ketchup.

 

Growing up, I was never a fan of just baked or broiled fish. That is until my Mom made this recipe. I ate it cautiously at first. The 2^nd mouthful was even better. It wasn't until years later that I found that this was actually one of my Nana's recipes and the family history-buff in me loved it even more. Or maybe it was the tomato sauce, the high end cousin of ketchup!

It is a fairly easy recipe and I have made it with cod, haddock, and tilapia but I am sure almost any mild fish would do.  I would try it with flounder, red snapper, or trout. I think salmon or tuna would be too strong for this. We always made it with a side of white or brown rice. This time I made it with tilapia, portabella mushrooms, and brown rice. You can vary the recipe with what ever seasonings you wish. I hope you enjoy.

 

Baked Fish with Vegetables

From the kitchen of Sarah 'Nana' Newman

Baked Fish (tilapia) with Vegetables

 

Heat oven to 400'F

Serves 6

 

6 slices frozen or fresh mild flavored fish

1 large cooking onion, diced

1/4 lbs mushrooms, fresh sliced or canned

1 green pepper, diced

 5 tablespoons butter or margarine

1 1/2 cans/jars tomato sauce (16 oz cans/jars)

salt and pepper to taste, or additional seasonings

vegetable oil (optional)

 

1. Brown vegetables in 2 tablespoons margarine, butter, or vegetable oil

2. Arrange vegetables on bottom of large glass or metal baking pan

3. Place fish over vegetables

4. Dot fish with butter

5. Sprinkle with salt and pepper

6. Pour tomato sauce over fish

7. Bake at 400'F uncovered for 35 minutes at the most, or until the fish are thoroughly done

8. Baste occasionally

9. Serve with white or brown rice.