Well, hello there!  I missed you last month! I had to take a month of, my apologies, but I am back and with another delicious, and in this case, healthy dish.  This is also a very simple recipe, as I know most of you will be cooking Thanksgiving dinner and can use something simple and easy in the meantime.  It’s also a perfect dish for those cold, winter months. I’m also going to show you how to make brown rice delicious. 

So, here’s your list of ingredients:

  • 4 4-6 Oz cod loin filets
  • 4 roasted red peppers (jarred or homemade, your choice)
  • 1 14 Oz can tomato puree
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 8 cloves garlic, minced
  • Olive oil
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 1Tbsp fresh basil, chopped fine(optional)
  • 1 cup brown rice
  • 2 cups low-sodium chicken stock 
  • 1-2 bay leaves

Gotta love those old-school insta filters, eh?  Yes, this is a recipe I came up with a while ago but it is one that I like to revisit pretty often.  First thing is first, take 4 roasted red peppers (I used the jarred ones) and add them to a blender with the tomato puree.  Blast them until they are thoroughly combined.  In whatever pan you like to use to cook rice, put it on high heat.  Add the oil and then half of the onions.  Make sure to salt these onions.  Cook for a couple of minutes, stirring constantly.  If they burn a little, that’s OK, but not too much char or it’ll be bitter. Add half of the garlic and cook until you just smell the garlic.  Throw in the rice and toast the rice with the onions and garlic, until the rice starts to look like it’s getting translucent.  Once it’s starting to look toasty (almost browned) add the chicken stock and the bay leaf.  Bring it to a boil.  Watch it carefully, despite that whole watching boiling water mess.  Once it hits a boil, drop the heat to low/medium-low and let it go for about 40-45 minutes.  

As the rice is cooking put a deep-side having sauté pan on medium heat.  Add the rest of the onion and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring constantly so they don’t burn.  Once they are nice and translucent, add the remaining garlic and cook for about 30-60 seconds, also stirring constantly. Add the combined tomato and red pepper puree.

Turn the heat down to medium-low.  Cover the sauce and let it work for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Now you want to salt and pepper your fish aggressively.  After the 30 minutes are up, add the fish to the sauce, cover, and let simmer for 10-15 minutes. Note: It’s at this point you would add the basil if you want to add it.  This works both with and without basil.  

Fish never really takes that long to cook, so make sure you check it after the 10-minute mark.  It should start to flake apart while still being juicy (you’re welcome for not using that M word).  Put a good heaping of the cooked brown rice, which will be done by now, in the bottom of a bowl.  Add a piece of fish and a good amount of that delicious sauce.  Now, grab a fork or spoon and enjoy!!

P.S. Sorry that the last picture’s blurry!