Friday, March 8, 2013

Seared Grouper with Tomato-Caper Sauce


Bev used one of her Groupon’s to buy a good sized grouper filet and I went to my blog recipe file to find something different.  We settled on the recipe for Seared Halibut with Garden Tomato-CaperSauce from Susan over at Savoring Time In The Kitchen.  I adapted it just a little for our taste and to use ingredients we had on hand – my changes are in (). 

Seared Grouper with Tomato Caper Sauce

For the tomato caper sauce (I doubled what is shown below to have extra)      

-1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
-1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
-3  plump garlic cloves, minced
-1/8 cup capers, drained, rinsed and finely chopped
-1 pound tomatoes, peeled, seeded and finely chopped (16 oz home canned tomatoes w/ juice)
-Salt, preferably kosher salt, and freshly ground pepper to taste
-Pinch of sugar (I omitted the sugar)
-1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme leaves (scant 1/4 tsp dried thyme leaves)
-1 teaspoon slivered fresh basil leaves (1/3 tsp dried basil)
-Splash of light cream (I used heavy cream)

1. Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium heat,  add the onion and cook, stirring often, until tender, three to five minute.
2. Add the garlic and the capers and cook, stirring, for three to five minutes, until the onion has softened thoroughly and the mixture is fragrant.
3. Add the tomatoes, salt, pepper, thyme, and basil, bring to a simmer and cook, stirring often, for 15 to 20 minutes, until the sauce is thick and fragrant.  Taste and adjust seasonings.
4. (I tilted the skillet to make a pool on one side, then used an immersion blender to break up the chunks of tomato and make a smoother sauce). 
5. Add about 1/4 cup of cream and stir.  Cover and keep warm while the fish cooks.

For the seared grouper

-1 grouper filet - cut into four servings
-Salt, preferably kosher salt, and freshly ground pepper
-Flour for dusting
-1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1. Pat fish dry with paper towel, season  with salt and pepper, and dust lightly with flour.
2. Use the beaded water test to heat a 12” stainless pan to the proper temperature and add the oil. 
3. Sear fish on side one until a golden color is achieved then flip and cook to an internal temperature of 135-140*.  For those that get done early, keep warm in a 140* toaster oven.

4. Place a large spoonful of the tomato caper sauce on each plate, and place a piece of fish on top.  If desired, top the fish with another spoonful of sauce and garnish with fresh basil or thyme (I obviously didn’t do either, so please check Susan’s shots for a much prettier presentation).

Thanks Susan for a very good meal and Bev plans to use the extra sauce on meatloaf. 

Photos best if enlarged by clicking on them.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

Larry

3/5/13 event date

17 comments:

  1. That looks absolutely amazing! Love the simplicity of the sauce!

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  2. That tomato caper sauce would be good on meatloaf and a lot of other things too!

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  3. This looks delicious, and I think the sauce would be wonderful for several different dishes.

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  4. Our groupon's are never for anything as awesome as groceries! Jealous. :P That tomato caper sauce sounds delicious!

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  5. Mmmm. It looks really delicious and gourmet. Using the extra sauce on meatloaf is a great idea!

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    1. Larry, We don't eat much fish at home... But, this is a great looking hunk of fish and the sauce sounds terrific. Now we just need a restaurant that offers it on the menu! Take Care, Big Daddy Dave

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  6. We eat a lot of fish and a tomato caper sauce is one of our favorites. Great choice.
    Sam

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  7. That tomato caper sauce sounds excellent. I might just try it Monday with our haddock.

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  8. Delicious! I love a good tomato caper sauce. Have a great weekend!

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  9. Gosh, another fish I have never tried. The recipe looks so delicious and will do as Susan did and use halibut. That we do have!

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  10. The tomato caper sauced grouper sounds delicious. We don't get grouper in New Hampshire but this would be delicious with locally caught halibut, haddock or cod.

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  11. I think this sounds delicious. I sprinkle a little sugar in my spaghetti sauce, so wouldn't have omitted it from this. And you know me and capers, love them and would have relished every bite. This is a must try. We've got a foot of snow predicted so I sent Bob to the store yesterday for weekend meals. I'll have to give this a try after we dig out.

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  12. I like that sauce, I bet it would be good with grilled chicken and pasta.

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  13. I am loving this dish-beautiful.

    Velva

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  14. Larry, thanks so much for the mention and I'm so glad you tried the sauce. I'm also happy for the reminder of how good this sauce was with fish (your grouper looks so good!). I tend to try new recipes all the time and forget about some of the things I've tried in the past and really liked! This is going back on the menu here next week :)

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