Oven-Baked Fish with Tomato and Parsley

It's "August Potluck!" at I Heart Cooking Clubs (IHCC). We are free to select from any of IHCC's past and present featured chefs, and there are 14 chefs to choose from. Going through those chefs' books on my bookshelf, I chose Tessa Kiros's cookbook, Falling Cloudberries, a gorgeous book with many recipes that I want to try!

I've selected an oven-baked fish dish, which is so easy and fuss-free. In the recipe, Tessa uses white fish fillet, cut into 2-1/2 inch pieces. I have however used four slices of snapper, leaving it whole. Place the fish slices in a baking dish in a single layer. The rest of the ingredients ; canned chopped tomatoes, chopped parsley, minced garlic, chopped celery, lemon juice, sugar, olive oil are mixed together and season with salt and pepper. I have used cilantro instead of parlsey and have used much more than the recipe calls for. Pour the mixture over the fish, cover with foil and bake for about 30 minutes. Remove the foil, increase the heat and bake for another 40-50 minutes (I bake for 30 minutes).

The sauce is bubbling in the oven, looks so yummy.

Serve hot. We had it with rice, along with Stir-Fried Sugar Snaps with Garlic for a weeknight dinner. The fish is very soft and the tomato-parsley sauce is very tasty, very nice spoon over rice. As suggested by Tessa, some crusty bread would be lovely to mop up the juices.

Oven-Baked Fish with Tomato and Parsley
(adapted from "Falling Cloudberries", by Tessa Kiros)
1kg (2lb 4oz) firm white fish fillets, cut into 6cm (2-1/2inch) pieces
400gm (14oz) tin tomatoes with juice, chopped (or very ripe tomatoes peeled and chopped)
15gm (1/4 cup) chopped parsley (I've used cilantro)
4 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
juice of 2 lemons (I've used juice of 1 lemon)
2 celery stalks, chopped with some leaves
1 tsp sugar
3 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper
crusty bread, to serve

Preheat the oven to 180C (350F/Gas 4)
Put the fish in an oven dish where they will fit in a single layer. Mix together the tomatoes, parsley, garlic, lemon juice, sugar and olive oil and taste for seasoning. Pour over the fish to cover all the pieces, shaking the dish from side to side. Cover with foil and bake for about 30 minutes.
Remove the aluminium foil, increase the heat to 200C (400f/Gas ) and bake for another 40-50 minutes, or until the liquid has thickened and the top of the fish is golden in a couple of places.
Serve with crusty bread to mop up the juices.

I'm linking this post with I Heart Cooking Clubs (IHCC), theme for this week,

"August Potluck"!