I love eating fresh, light meals in the Summer. And since it is tomato season, this Poached Haddock with Blistered Tomatoes & Crispy Shallots is everything I want. The blistered tomatoes are bursting with juicy, sweet, and slightly acidic flavor. The poached haddock is perfectly flaky. And the crispy shallots bring just the right amount of crunch.
Poached Haddock with Blistered Tomatoes & Crispy Shallots
- 4 haddock filets, completely thawed if previously frozen and patted dry
- 2 pints of organic grape or cherry tomatoes
- 2 large shallots
- 5 cloves of garlic
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/4-1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
- sea salt
- freshly cracked black pepper
- 1 cup water
- 2 lemons
- Cilantro, roughly torn for garnish
Directions:
- Thinly slice all of the shallots and 3 cloves of garlic. (Mince the other 2 cloves of garlic and set them aside.)
- Pour the olive oil into a large skillet (a 12-14 inch skillet with a lid works best) and heat it over medium-low heat.
- Once the oil is hot, add the sliced shallots and garlic. Season with a bit of sea salt and black pepper. Stir with a spatula to coat all the shallots and garlic with the oil.
- Once the shallots and garlic turn translucent, add the red pepper flakes. Continue to sauté the shallots and garlic until they begin to brown. Once they turn brown and crispy remove the shallots, garlic, and all but 1 tablespoon of olive oil from the skillet and put them in a bowl. Set them aside.
- Add all the minced garlic to the remaining tablespoon of olive oil. Sauté the garlic for 30-60 seconds over medium-low heat.
- Add all of the tomatoes to the skillet. Stir the tomatoes with the spatula to coat them in the oil and garlic. Season the tomatoes with sea salt and black pepper.
- Cook the tomatoes until they begin to blister and burst, about 5-7 minutes. (Once the tomatoes have begun to blister, I like to use a pairing knife and pierce each tomato; this helps the tomatoes release their juices a bit faster.)
- Once the tomatoes have burst, add the cup of water. Scrape the bottom of the pan with the spatula to get all the flavor from the garlic and tomatoes.
- Let the tomatoes simmer for 3 minutes then taste for salt levels. Add sea salt and black pepper until it tastes the way you like it. Continue to simmer for 2-3 more minutes to allow the broth to thicken a bit. (Turn your heat up a bit if the broth is not simmering.)
- Season both sides of the fish filets with sea salt and black pepper. Push the tomatoes around to make four spots for the fish filets. Nestle each piece of fish into the broth and tomatoes. Put a lid on the skillet and poach the fish for 4-6 minutes, until it is opaque and flaky. (Thicker pieces of fish may take just a bit longer.)
- While the fish is cooking, cut one lemon in half and the other lemon into wedges.
- Squeeze the juice from both lemon halves over the fish and tomatoes. Taste the broth and tomatoes for seasoning. Add more salt, black pepper, and red pepper as desired. You can also add a sprinkling of garlic powder if desired.
- Plate the fish with 1-2 spoonfuls of the blistered tomatoes and about half a cup of broth. Spoon the crispy shallots, garlic, and chili infused oil over the fish. Sprinkle with cilantro and garnish with a lemon wedge.
My Grain-Free Bagel Bread goes well with this dish and is great for sopping up all the delicious broth.
Test Kitchen Notes:
I buy frozen wild-caught haddock and keep it in the freezer so that I can cook this dish whenever I feel like it. The fish thaws quickly in a bowl of cold water; it usually only takes about one hour. You can also thaw the fish filets in the fridge overnight.
If you cannot find haddock you can sub halibut, cod, or another white fish. Cod may cook slightly faster and fall apart a bit. Other white fish may take slightly longer to cook if it is thick.
The juice inside of the tomatoes gets extremely hot! That is one reason why I like to pierce them with a pairing knife. Make sure all of the tomatoes have burst before you eat them so that you don’t burn your mouth.
I like to serve this meal in a shallow pasta bowl to keep the broth from spilling off a plate.