Simple Greek Style Baked Fish ~ this is a vibrant example of the healthy Mediterranean diet, it’s low in calories, high in nutrients, and drop dead gorgeous!
I’d happily eat this way every night. It’s quick, easy, and healthy. Everything gets layered into one pan or dish, and cooks, on the grill or in a hot oven, in about 15 minutes. Between the tomatoes, the lemons, the olive oil and the wine, a luscious sauce magically develops as it cooks. Make sure to serve this with bread, or couscous (or something!) to sop up every last drop. This one pot Greek inspired halibut is pretty much the perfect example of why Mediterranean cooking is so incredibly good for us.
This is true ingredient based cooking — there aren’t any fancy techniques involved, so the focus is on freshness and quality. The Greeks know this combination just works. Halibut is brilliantly white and flaky, but any firm fish will do. I used beautiful strawberry tomatoes, still attached to the stem, but regular cherry tomatoes have the same great flavor. I love how the heat of the oven splits their skins and allows the juices to flow, no chopping necessary! For the olives, fresh from an olive bar is best. Good olives are rich and briny, and I like to mix firm green ones along with more pungent cured black ones. The more variety the better, and don’t worry about the pits, that’s part of the rustic charm of this dish.
And can we talk about cooked olives for a minute? They are the best things ever. Ever. When you heat them, they get juicer and the flesh just falls off the pit. The flavors get intensified while the sharpness of the olives mellows. If you haven’t already seen my FRIED OLIVES, or my ROASTED OLIVES, you need to check them out.
Simple Greek Style Baked Fish
Ingredients
- 2/3 lb halibut, cut in two portions
- ½ white or yellow onion
- 1 lemon
- Strawberry tomatoes, or assorted cherry tomatoes
- mixed olives, with or without pits
- salt and fresh cracked black pepper
- a little smoked paprika
- a few red pepper flakes, optional
- olive oil
- white wine
- fresh dill, or thyme, parsley, whatever you like
- feta cheese, optional
Instructions
- Set oven to 425F
- Peel and thinly slice the onion. Lay it out on the bottom of a baking dish.
- Thinly slice the lemon and lay out the slices on top of the onion. Put the halibut on top of the lemon. Season the fish with a little smoked paprika and red pepper flakes, if using.
- Scatter the tomatoes and olives around the fish. If any of the tomatoes are on the large side, cut them in half.
- Sprinkle everything with salt and pepper. Drizzle with olive oil and pour a little white wine into the dish, about 1/4 cup or so.
- Bake for about 15 minutes, or until the fish is done through. Finish under the broiler for a little more color.
- Serve with fresh dill and a crumbling of feta cheese.
This is perfect and so simple. I’ve been known to do it with chicken too. GREG
This just looks fabulous – so much flavor, but all simple ingredients – my favorite kind of recipe!
Love this. So elegantly simple and tasty. Forget the nutrition calculator… as my grandma used to say ‘ if it swims, it slims!’
This is the best way to eat, ever Sue! Love the ingredients here, so healthy!
Sue, I don’t cook fish very often; but next time I do, it’s going to be this way!
This fish sounds SO GOOD. I am going to have to try it with my homegrown tomatoes later this summer!
This is a beautiful dish Sue. I want to eat more fish and this method suits me! The freshness of this dish really comes through! Happy weekend!
I do the same with chicken…longer than 15 minutes for chicken but still easy and as you say, something magic happens to the sauce.
I love chicken baked this way, too Liz.
This screams SUMMER! I love fish prepared this way…so full of flavours!
Do you know how I could find the nutrional info on this recipe? Or, would you mind if I input it into My Fitness Pal’s recipe evaluator?
I don’t have the official nutrition stats on this dish, Sonja, but sure, go ahead and use your recipe evaluator!
Sonya, can you post the results so we all don’t have to do it? Had logged back in to check and see if there were already nutritional stats posted. Am making this tonight!