Fresh fish cooked on the grill is one of summer’s simple pleasures. All you need to do to make it delicious is season it with salt and pepper, cook it and finish with a squeeze of lemon juice. Dinner, done.
But with just the tiniest extra effort, you can turn that basic fillet into a spectacular, full-flavored dish. Here, two easy steps make it so: adding a smear of sun-dried tomato tapenade and wrapping it in a leaf of Swiss chard.
The tapenade, basically a kind of quick spread, is a mixture of sun-dried tomatoes, Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, garlic, oil and vinegar, all whirred in a food processor. It has an intense, savory flavor with a hint of sweetness, and it provides a bold punch of color.
The accompanying recipe makes more tapenade than you’ll need for four fillets, so you’ll have some left over to spread on toasted baguette slices and top with mozzarella cheese and basil as an appetizer, to use as a sandwich spread or to stir into hummus, to name a few possibilities. (The tapenade can be made a couple of weeks in advance.)
When you are ready to cook the fish, spread some tapenade on top of each fillet, wrap a stemmed Swiss chard leaf around each one and grill (or saute in a pan) until the fish is flaky, the tapenade has warmed and the chard is charred (!).
Here, I used cod for its meatiness, but you can use any kind of firm, white fish. Just make sure the fillet is not more than an inch thick, so the leaf doesn’t burn before the fish is done.
The chard not only keeps everything together in an attractive, tidy packet but also protects the fish so it cooks more gently and stays moist, while the leaf becomes crisp and takes on a delightful smoky flavor and grill marks. It’s a summer pleasure, and then some.
Chard-wrapped cod with sun-dried tomato tapenade
For the tapenade
12sun-dried tomatoes (not oil-packed; 1.4 ounces total)
1cup boiling water
1/4cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
1small clove garlic
1/4cup extra-virgin olive oil
1teaspoon red wine vinegar
1/8teaspoon salt, plus more as needed
1/8teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more as needed
For the fish
2large Swiss chard leaves (2.5 ounces total)
4skinless 1-inch thick cod fillets (4 to 5 ounces each)
1/8teaspoon salt
1/8teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Make ahead: You’ll have leftover tapenade, which can be refrigerated for up to 2 weeks.
For the tapenade: Place the sun-dried tomatoes in a medium bowl; cover with boiling water and let them soak for 15 minutes. Drain, reserving 6 tablespoons of the soaking water.
Transfer the drained tomatoes to a food processor, along with the cheese, garlic, 3 tablespoons of the oil, the vinegar, salt, pepper and the reserved soaking water. Puree to form a smooth paste; the yield is about 1 cup. (You won’t be using all of it.)
For the fish: Cut out and discard the chard stems, so that only the leaves remain. Lay out the leaves, shiny (top) sides facing down.
Season the fish with the salt and pepper on both sides. Spread a generous tablespoon of the tapenade on top of each fillet. Invert the fillets, centering them on each chard leaf. Fold/wrap the leaves to form 4 fish parcels, turning them seam side down. (The fish will not be completely covered.)
Heat the remaining tablespoon of oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Once the oil shimmers, add the fish parcels, seam side down. Cook for 3 minutes; the tapenade will bubble at the edges of the leaves a bit, the leaves will soften and turn bright green, and the fish will begin to turn opaque. Use two thin spatulas to turn over each fish parcel. Cook for 3 minutes, until the fish is opaque and just cooked through.
Serve warm. Makes 4 servings.
Nutrition 5/8 Per serving: 150 calories, 21g protein, 2g carbohydrates, 6g fat, 1g saturated fat, 50mg cholesterol, 230mg sodium, 0g dietary fiber, 1g sugar
Ellie Krieger’s most recent cookbook is “Weeknight Wonders: Delicious Healthy Dinners in 30 Minutes or Less.” She blogs and offers a weekly newsletter at www.elliekrieger.com.
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