What to do with those White Fish

I have known for a while now that in seafood land, the realm of fish is expansive to our average palette and one category in particular gets little love.  As an american society we wedge into a group all white fish. When we want a fish and don’t know what it is but the fillet is white, we just call it a white fish and typically is battered and fried.  

Well, in the mediterranean coastline, there is a way to make the fish a little healthier and to cook it with vegetables.  Originally this can be done with paper. But in catering land, that would take a lot of paper when cooking for 160 people. Instead, a pan with a tight lid is implemented.  

The great thing about steaming a fish with vegetables is that it is less likely to dry out. Also, all the liquid produced is like a miniature version of a fish stock. Thus upon finished steaming, the liquid  is drained and reduced, only to be thickened and turned into a rich wonderful sauce.  

For weddings, we steam rock fish fillets over fingerling potatoes. They come out creamier and are already a good size when cut in half.  To it, there are tomatoes, and bell peppers. For extra flavor and umami we add capers and kalamata olives.  For light acidity and fragrance we add white wine, and meyer lemons sliced and juiced.  Overall the blend of veggies and aromats mesh and get garnished with a fresh batch of gremolata for a power packed punch.

Cooking this at home means you are only getting two pans dirty and are not worried about oil spats messing up the stove top.  This can be cooked with any white fish. Rockfish just happened to be the fish right now that is being caught locally.