Red Snapper With a New Take on Rice and Beans

RED SNAPPER is so delicious when you can get it fresh from the ocean.  There is a wonderful sea food stand that comes to a parking lot near our quaint little neighborhood periodically through the summer.  We are on their mailing list because my hubby can't pass up the opportunity to enjoy such fresh crab and shrimp right at home.

 This is such an easy recipe that the pictures almost tell the story themselves.  As often is the case, we wanted to eat our food right away, so I didn't get a picture of it all together on a plate.   Sorry!  :)  To select a good fish, make sure the smell isn't too strong, of course, and that the eyes are clear.  This 2.7 pound guy made a light meal for four.  He had been gutted, but the scales were still on, so I used a steak knife to take off the ridiculously big scales; I'm used to cleaning pan fish like lake perch and blue gill with normal little scales that fly all over into my hair and turn me into a pretty mermaid.

If you want the rice dish too, then follow the directions on a good quality bag of long grain brown rice.   Adjust portion sizes to the amount of guests, of course.  When that is simmering on the back of the stove you just need to remember when to turn it off in the middle of fish prep and let it sit with the lid on to plump out.  I don't salt my rice while it cooks because it may be tougher that way.

Next wash with cold water inside and out then pat dry with toweling.  Pat pat pat.

a not too fishy fishy (he has scary teeth)

I took a big handful of course salt and garlic powder to rub all over inside and out.  Don't skip the inside!  Then I drizzled him with olive oil and lemon juice.  I cheated and used concentrate because I was in for the evening and out of the pretty yellow fruit.  Shhhh!   Don't tell!

Then, as you can see, I stuffed the cavity with some great stuff!  I coarsely chopped some vegetables and herbs: cilantro, garlic (about 2 cloves) a fourth of an onion and a lot of lemon oregano.  Yes, lemon!  It is so fragrant and wonderful!  My son thought I said pick 10 lbs of it for me out of the garden, so I now have some easy to access in the veggie drawer.  I store it in an open plastic food bag to keep it nice and new.  If you wanted to, you could use dill instead of cilantro or any combination of great herbs; thyme, rosemary... whatev, but I loved the effect of the cilantro and oregano.  The reason the skins are in the pic is because you don't want to eat the stuffing, it just isn't great.  I didn't bother with bread chunks or butter this time because I learned that the first time.

the half a garden's worth of oregano my son brought me when I said "a lot"

 Now set your fish aside and you can throw together the quick rice dish.  It's really basically a rice dish despite the beans.  I simply used two small cans of fire roasted tomatoes and a small can of light red kidney beans.  I think black beans would go really well, especially in keeping with the cilantro and oregano.  Is your rice tender enough?  Throw it all together then, go ahead!  No order!  You can't see it here, but I did add the rice with the other stuff at some point.  Chuck in some red pepper flakes to taste, some chicken base if desired for extra flavor, some butter or olive oil and ... wait for it... KALE!  A big beautiful bunch of de- stemmed kale ripped into bite sized pieces.  It is so very good!  Let those flavors marry in a simmering warm covered pan or pot while the kale wilts down a bit.  The reason I say wait til last on the Kale is because it can become dark and bitter after cooking too long. 

Throw some lemon wedges in a little dish and set the table because in a half hour your fish will probably be cooked to perfection.

Heat up your grill and when it's ready go ahead and place that fish in there and shut the lid.  If you don't like the smell of burning fish fins (who does?) ...like, if you have company over that may be grossed out, then wrap your fish first in parchment then tightly in tin foil.  This does make for extra moist meat, but I like the blackened grilled look a little, plus I was lazy this day.  Shhh!  

Wha-la!  1/2 an hour later (probably an hour total) you have an impressive meal with little effort.  My family RAVED over the kale rice dish.  Kale is so good for you and OMEGA 3s are great!  Enjoy!  

PS If any of my millions of adoring fans are dying to know how I make homemade napkins like the one that sneaked into the fist picture of this post, then please request a tutorial in the comments section. It is so satisfying and addictive!