Mediterranean Thoughts on a Snowy Day

Today we will be having fish. Below is a recipe that we love. It is very Mediterranean and once again has the good antioxidants provided by the tomato. Today’s recipe contains black olives. Did you know that black olives contain antibacterial and antifungal properties? They contain polyphenols which may reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and cancer. They also may stimulate the immune system and erase fine lines and wrinkles and smooth the skin. (Excuse me while I go eat some black olives!)

Red Snapper & Sauce

1-8 oz. skinless fillet of red snapper (or tilapia)
½ c. flour (or milled flax seed)
½ c. olive oil
1 pat of butter
1 seedless, skinless tomato, diced (canned okay)
Clove of garlic, chopped or crushed
Salt and pepper to taste
Lemon juice
1 tsp. red chili pepper, crushed
1Tbsp. black olives, chopped
2 sprigs fresh thyme
1 tsp. fresh parsley, chopped
2 Tbsp. white wine

Warm oil in sauté pan. Dust the fish liberally with flour (or flax) Cook fish for about 2 minutes per side. Remove fish from pan and keep warm in the oven (325 – 350 degrees). Using the same sauté pan, add a pat of butter and the tomato. Simmer for 1 minute. Add salt and pepper, lemon juice, and crushed pepper. Add black olives. Let this simmer for 8-10 minutes (add white wine or fish stock to keep mixture from getting dry). Return fish to pan for five minutes and add the parsley and thyme. Makes 4 servings

Nutrition Facts:
Calories 412
Total Fat 31.3g
Saturated Fat 5.8g
Cholesterol 34mg
Sodium 75mg
Carbohydrates 14.5g
Dietary Fiber 1.1g
Protein 17g
Vitamin A 11% Vitamin C 13%
Calcium 4% Iron 9%
Nutrition Grade C-

You know by now that I never just make the recipe as is. I adapt to what I have on hand or to my own taste. I can’t always find red snapper in the store so I substitute tilapia. Any mild fish will do. I also remove the flour because it is higher in carbs and substitute the milled flax seed. This gives it more of a nutty flavor.

To move the nutrition grade up to an A- make the following changes. Reduce the olive oil to ¼ cup, leave out the butter and switch from wine to fish stock and increase to 4 Tbsp. This also reduces the calories to 264, Fat to 15.1 but it increases the Cholesterol to 27mg.
Now Devin and I love the spicy bite to this recipe. If you don’t like spicy, cut back on the chili pepper. Remember the longer the sauce simmers with the chili pepper the more intense the flavor will be. Before I was watching carbs, we would serve this with white rice. Brown rice would be better for you though. If we had leftovers we would mix the fish into the leftover rice and have awesome dirty rice the next day. Now I serve it over fresh spinach leaves or with a side salad.

Please let me know if you are enjoying this recipe series. Feedback can be sent to me at jblog2010@gmail.com . (Also if you note any errors feel free to let me know. I am far from an expert. I know a little about a lot but not a lot about a little, if you know what I mean.)