It’s Lent, it’s Friday, so it only seemed appropriate to have a fish recipe.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

In a bowl, combine:
1-2 teaspoons minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon rice vinegar (can substitute white wine vinegar)
1 tablespoon brewed soy sauce
Juice of 1/2 fresh lemon
a few good grinds of fresh black pepper (about 1/2 teaspoon)

Whisk ingredients and drizzle in

1/4 cup olive oil. Whisk until thickened. Rinse a

1 pound grouper filet– head-end

Cover fish in sauce and marinate at room temperature at least 10 but no more than 25 minutes (more than that and the lemon juice will seviche-cook the fish and make it tough). Drain and reserve marinade.

Put fish on greased broiler pan 5-8 inches from top of oven. After 10 minutes, turn off oven (trust me here!) and turn broiler element on high. Broil about 5 minutes more, until garlic flecks are golden brown. Remove from oven.

While fish cooks, heat small saucepan. Make a roux with

2 teaspoons butter
1 teaspoon flour.

Add reserved marinade and allow to simmer and thicken. Remove from heat and add a dash of lemon juice to “brighten” the sauce.

Serve fish with sauce! You can also add the pan drippings to the sauce
for a roasty flavor.

Why marinate at room temperature? Because it promotes even cooking of the meat. It also shaves time from the cook time. As far as food safety, if the fish is spoiled after 10 minutes at room temperature, it was spoiled already!!

Grouper is a very mild fish, so it can be overwhelmed with strong flavors. Have the fishmonger give you a filet that doesn’t smell like fish and is from the “head end” of the fish. The tail is tougher meat. As for the smell, any good monger will know why you want to smell it. It’s better to feel a little weird smelling raw fish than to serve bad fish to your guests! Ask what’s good today before you buy the grouper- it could be old! This recipe will work with any whitefish.

Prep time: 10 minutes (5 for marinade, 5 to make sauce)
Total time: 30 minutes

Taste [rate 4]
Ease [rate 4]