Recipe #17 - Red Snapper with Raw Puttanesca Salsa

_______________________________________________________________________________

The original name of this recipe was Halibut with Raw Puttanesca Salsa, but halibut is not in season at the moment. I had to choose between red snapper and flounder. The red snapper was slightly more pricey ($22/pound) but I wanted to try it.

Preheat grill pan or outdoor grill to medium-high to high heat.

The recipe said to make the salsa while this fish cooks, but it took a little longer than I expected and the fish cooks pretty quickly. So my recommendation is to make the salsa first.

In the bottom of a medium bowl, combine anchovy paste, grated garlic, red pepper flakes, zest and lemon juice and whisk in 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil. Add capers, olives, parsley and tomatoes. Toss and season with black pepper, to taste.

Raw Puttanesca Salsa

Coat the fish in extra-virgin olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Cook fish for about 3 to 4 minutes on each side until firm, cooked through and evenly marked. Char bread on the grill 1 minute on each side.

Red Snapper

Serve bread topped with lots of salsa and fish. I also paired it with a Knoxville wine from Blue Slip Winery called Pot Blanc. It was my favorite wine from the Silent Art Auction & Wine Tasting event I hosted for St. Jude back in September.

Sides: Pot Blanc Wine and Charred Rye Bread

The idea behind the wine was instead of throwing out all the extra different white grapes at the end of the season, the lady threw them all in to a pot and made this spectacular semi-dry wine with the perfect amount of sweetness that complemented the red snapper flawlessly.

Wa-la!

I also made the mashed red potatoes from Recipe #15 as a side.

Time: ~1 hour

Rating: 8

Ingredients:

4 (6-ounce) halibut fillets

Extra-virgin olive oil, for liberal drizzling plus 1/4 cup

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

4 (1-inch) thick slices crusty bread

1 1/2 teaspoons anchovy paste

2 to 3 cloves garlic, grated

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1 lemon, zested and juiced

3 tablespoons capers, run your knife through them

1/2 cup pitted black olives, chopped

1/2 cup flat-leaf parsley, coarsely chopped

1 pint grape tomatoes, halved or cherry tomatoes, quartered