Fish with Herb Butter: Another Quick Supper Recipe

One of my favorite simple suppers, one that's light and easy and healthy too. It's quick enough for a weeknight supper but also special enough for company. Weight Watchers, you'll love this simple fish, just a few points for something that tastes rich and satisfying.

~ Skip Straight to the Recipe ~

BEST RECIPES!

• Fish with Herb Butter Made the List!
• Best Recipes of 2004

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Lightening Up?

Feeling heavy and slow from food-centered gatherings with friends and family over the long weekend? Overeat at breakfast or lunch?

FISH with HERB BUTTER just might be the cure. Quick to prepare and serve, there’s barely time to toss a salad!

It's extra easy for someone who already has herbs on hand. Sooo ... hey, have you planted a few herbs yet? Keeping two or three favorites herbs in pots will keep you in herbs all summer long, all for the price of a few plants. See my post about growing herbs at home, Never Buy Fresh Herbs Again.

Culinary Tools for One or Two

Pound for pound, fish is more expensive than other protein sources. Plus, there's the whole question of sustainability, fish stocks are so depleted, I wonder how responsible cooking sources can advise, "Eat two or three servings of fish per week." What?????? If the world's population ate that much fish, well ... it wouldn't be pretty.

Perhaps all my inner fish-conflict is the reason why fish seems especially suited for meals for one or two.

So perhaps that's why a "quarter" sheet pan is so useful. Huh? What's a quarter sheet pan, you ask?

We all know the "big" sheet pans, you may use one for baking cookies or roasting vegetables. Technically, the big baking sheets are called "half" sheet pans. They're half the size (duh) of a "full" sheet pan. The "full" pans are enormous, only commercial kitchens have big enough ovens for those puppies.

And duh, a quarter sheet pan is one-fourth the size of a full sheet pan. It's big enough for two or three pieces of fish or roasted vegetables for one or two. I also use mine for small sheet cakes!

RESOURCES These sheet pans are Made In America and are real work horses. This is the quarter sheet pan, it comes with a lid that's handy when you go the cake route. Wash them by hand, they'll keep that pretty shiny surface! Wash them in the dishwasher, the surface will dull but good news, it'll still work just fine. My Disclosure Promise

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QUICK SUPPER: FISH with HERB BUTTER

Hands-on time: 15 minutes
Time to table: 15 minutes
Written for one, easy scaled to serve more

PER SERVING
• 6-ounce filet of sole or another mild-flavored, firm-fleshed saltwater fish such as flounder or cod
• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper
• 1 teaspoon soft butter
• Generous splash fresh lemon juice
• Generous portions chopped fresh chive and dill

Heat the broiler and line a baking sheet with parchment or foil. Lightly brush both sides of the filet with olive oil and season with a little salt and pepper. Place the fish onto the baking sheet and broil for 3 minutes without turning. (More time is needed for thicker filets. See TIPS.)

Meanwhile, mix the butter, lemon juice and herbs in a small dish. Remove the fish and dab the butter-herb mixture on top. Broil for another minute. Garnish with lemon slices and dill sprigs and serve immediately.

ALANNA's TIPS Whether broiling, baking, grilling or frying, the guideline for cooking fish is to measure the thickest part, then cook 4 to 5 minutes per half inch. To test for doneness, insert a knife tip into the thickest point. The fish should be opaque with milky-white juices. If undercooked, the flesh will be translucent and the juices clear and watery. If overcooked, the flesh will be dry and fall apart. For precision, insert an instant-read thermometer, again at the thickest point; fish is cooked at 145F/65C. For a delicate pleasure, skip the salt before broiling. Then, before serving, sprinkle the filet with a few grains of a finishing salt such as fleur de sel, a special-occasion salt harvested by hand from salt flats off the coast of France and then only on warm, breezy and rain-free afternoons. Its moist flakes are expensive but used in tiny quantities to highlight foods as such perfectly ripe tomatoes and fresh mozzarella balls. For an elegant plate, sprinkle the rim with chopped chive or dabs of fresh pesto. Fresh dill and chive work beautifully together but when I broiled the fish most recently, I used what was on hand, fresh tarragon. It complements fish too!

NUTRITION INFORMATION Per Serving: 168 Calories; 5g Tot Fat; 2g Sat Fat; 88mg Cholesterol; 120mg Sodium; 10g Carb; 0g Fiber; 0g Sugar; 32g Protein. WEIGHT WATCHERS POINTS Old Points 4 & PointsPlus 5 & SmartPoints & Freestyle This recipe has been "Alanna-sized" by a reduction in fat plus increases in no-calorie herbs.

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More of My Favorite Easy Fish Recipes

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~ more fish recipes ~

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More Quick Supper Recipes for Summer

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~ more quick supper recipes ~

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Kitchen Parade is written by second-generation food columnist Alanna Kellogg and features fresh, seasonal dishes for every-day healthful eating and occasional indulgences. Quick Suppers are Kitchen Parade favorites and feature recipes easy on the budget, the clock, the waistline and the dishwasher. Do you have a favorite recipe that other Kitchen Parade readers might like? Just send me a quick e-mail via recipes@kitchen-parade.com. How to print a Kitchen Parade recipe. Never miss a recipe! If you like this recipe, sign up for a free e-mail subscription. If you like Kitchen Parade, you're sure to like my food blog about vegetable recipes, too, A Veggie Venture. If you make this recipe, I'd love to know your results! Just leave a comment below.

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