Moldovan Fish in Wine Sauce with Sauteed Vegetables

Life, and stomach flu, has been getting in the way of blogging for the last two weeks, and I am finally back. This post is a dish that is very similar to the previous recipe, Fish in Tomato Sauce. The two dishes look somewhat similar, each one is a fish cooked in a red sauce, but the flavors are very different. The Fish in Tomato Sauce is smooth and creamy, while the Moldovan Fish is more bright and tangy. Each is appetizing in its own way. The Moldovan Fish recipe comes from the country of Moldova, a former part of the Soviet Union. It has been taken from Please to the Table by Anya Von Bremzen and slightly simplified.

Preparation time: 20 min

Total time: 1 hour

Ingredients

1 lb of any fish with firm white flesh

3 tablespoons olive oil

3 tablespoons lemon juice

½ bell pepper

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 leeks

½ lb mushrooms (any type)

1 can of diced tomatoes (drained)

½ cup of dry white wine (if not available, any wine will do)

¼  cup parsley or cilantro, chopped

Vegetable or olive oil for sautéing

Instructions

• Sprinkle fish with salt and pepper
• Place in baking dish
• Mix olive oil and lemon juice
• Pour olive oil and lemon juice mixture over the fish. Let it marinade while the rest of the steps are completed.
• Slice leeks (white part only) and mushrooms. Sautee in a frying pan until softened and slightly browned (about 10 minutes).
• While the leeks and mushrooms are cooking, mince bell pepper and 1 clove of garlic.
• Preheat oven to 375 °F.
• Add diced tomatoes, minced bell peppers and garlic, and wine to the frying pan. Mix well and sauté about 15 minutes until the liquid is slightly reduced.
• Pour sautéed vegetables over the fish.
• Sprinkle with parsley and the remaining minced garlic, as well as salt and pepper.
• Bake at 375 °F until the fish is translucent and easily pierced with a fork (about 15 minutes)

Moldovan Fish before baking

Moldovan Fish after baking