30 minute one pan fish dinner

This is a campsite version of an Italian classic known as ” Fish in crazy water” , or ” Pesce all’acqua pazza” . Simply put, it’s poached fish. The prep is minimal, one pan insures easy clean up, which makes a perfect camp dinner that’s elegant enough to be served in a nice restaurant.

Poaching is great for things you might easily overcook, like fish, because it is done over low heat. You also usually discard the poaching liquid when you are done, but in this case, it is going to become our sauce.

Start by sauteeing the aromatics, in this case just garlic and tomatoes, but you could add onion, fennel, carrots, etc, if you like. I’m keeping it simple, because camping, and don’t want to pack a bunch of stuff. Cook just long enough to bring out some umami from the tomatoes, and aroma from the garlic, maybe 2 minutes. Add just enough water that once you add your fish, it comes up the sides of the fish, but does not cover. In my pan, it was roughly 2 cups.

To extract the most flavor from your broth, you can then simmer for up to 40 minutes, but I am never that patient, so I add the fish and parsley sprigs after about 20 minutes.

Depending on the size and type of fllet you use, cook time will vary, but my sablefish filets took about 10 minutes. Place half the spinach in each bowl, and put the fish on top. At this point you can go in two directions:

1. Crank the heat on your poaching liquid, and reduce until it resembles less of a clear liquid with tomatoes in it, and more of a tomato sauce. Spoon over the fish, and serve.
2. If you need some carbs, add pasta of your choice, cover, and cook until the pasta is done. Small, fast cooking shapes are best for this, like fusilli or bowties. Add to your fish, and serve.

More delicate palates will push the garlic to the side, but I slurp the whole thing straight from the bowl.