(photo: oven roasted broccoli with baked flounder with breadcrumb topping)
Like our recent orecchiette recipe this Italian style flounder recipe with roasted, spicy, brocolli can be prepared in under 30 minutes. Moreover, the toppings used for both the fish and vegetable are nearly identical making this meal very easy to prepare. A breadcrumb topping is a universal flavor enhancer that can be added to certain types of fish, meats, and vegetables which are lacking in inherent flavor (for example, zucchini, lemon sole, squash, etc.). The key to the topping is that you make your own seasoned breadcrumbs and never purchase the pre-made variety. If you’re looking for a generic homemade breadcrumb recipe click here.
Ingredients (fish and broccoli):
- 1 pound of wild flounder fillet (ask your fish person for large pieces)
- 1 head of broccoli
- lemon zest of half a lemon
- 2 tablespoons of dried oregano
- 2 cups of plain breadcrumbs
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon of dry red pepper flakes
- 1 bunch of parsley
- 6-7 cloves of garlic
- 1/2 cup of extra virgin olive oil
Process:
Start with the roasted broccoli by removing the last half inch of the stalk. Remove the white stalk and save it. Cut the broccoli into florets but leave a good amount of stalk to the floret so that you get some texture when eating the floret. Wash the stalk and florets. Remove the exterior skin from stalk and cut it into 2 inch pieces (this is a very tasty part of the broccoli and shouldn’t be discarded; Jaques Pepin is famous for saving broccoli stems!). Place the brocolli parts in a large glass bowl and microwave for 4 minutes on high. Place the broccoli parts in a large backing dish and drizzle with a good amount of extra virgin olive oil. Mix the contents well with your hands. Season the broccoli with Kosher salt and freshly ground blacker pepper and add the garlic pieces (remove the skin from the garlic but keep it whole). Next, sprinkle on the dry red pepper flakes, dried oregano, and plain breadcrumbs. Finally, drizzle with a bit of extra virgin olive oil to moisten the breadcrumbs and bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 10-15 minutes.
(photo: close up of broccoli with hot pepper flakes, breadcrumbs, etc.)
(photo: broccoli before being placed in the oven)
For the flounder fillet, lay out the pieces on a medium sized baking tray and drizzle both side with extra virgin olive oil. Next, sprinkle one side of the fish with Kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper, lemon zest, parsley, dried oregano, and plain breadcrumb. Drizzle a bit of extra virgin olive oil over the top of the fish and back at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 10 minutes (depending on the thickness of the fish).
If you’d like to add a starch to this dish risotto works well as does pan fried potatoes with onions.
Food Guide to an Italian Christmas
(photo: various Christmas food plates: left to right string beans, baked broccoli, bacala in tomato sauce, mussels in red wine tomato sauce, zeppole, fried calamari, stuffed squid, baked flounder, salad, etc.)At this point in the holiday frenzy, you’r…
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