Apple-Stuffed Baked Fish

I have a confession to make. I used to say I hated fish or seafood of any kind. I wouldn't even consider eating fish, but recently I have been trying to have it more often. I'm always in search of good fish recipes, and this one was right up that alley. I admit that I still get the heebie geebies when handling fish, but I think that for the most part, I will say I like seafood. But don't expect me to eat anything with a nasty hard shell like lobster or crab. Things that have eyes that look at me. I won't even go near those!

But back to this recipe. It is out of one of my favorite cookbooks, The Old Farmer's Everyday Cookbook Almanac, and it won first prize in the 2003 "apples" recipe contest. The filling is sweet and savory, with a hint of tartness from the apples mingled with a touch of thyme; it's definitely a winner. It has an elegant presentation and is simple to make. I'm sure this dish could be dressed up on a bed of shredded carrots or rice and it would look even prettier. The one thing I would change is reduce the green onion. I think my onions were on the strong side, but there was too much for my taste. I left the original measurements in the recipe below, so you can decide for yourself. See my review for full details. Enjoy!

Apple-Stuffed Baked Fish (Print)
from The Old Farmer's Everyday Cookbook Almanac
Prep: 20 minutes / Bake: 10-15 minutes
Yield: 4 servings

Stuffing:
1 cup peeled, cored, and grated Golden Delicious apple
1/2 cup peeled and grated carrot
1/2 cup minced green onion
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground mustard
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon dried thyme

Fish:
4 white fish fillets (haddock, cod, or other), 4-5 ounces each (I used cod)
1/2 cup chicken broth or water

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly grease a small roasting pan. (I used a cast iron dutch oven).

2. For stuffing: Prepare the apples, carrots, and onion as directed. Combine all ingredients in a medium mixing bowl.

3. For fish: Rinse the fillets and pat dry with paper towels. Spread the stuffing over the fillets and carefully roll up lengthwise. (Mine ended up just being folded). Secure with toothpicks. Place fish in pan, pour broth or water over fish. Cover with lid or aluminum foil. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until fish flakes easily with a fork.

               

My Review

Sunshine Halibut

Sunshine Halibut
from Taste of Home Cookbook

1/3 cup chopped onion
1 garlic clove, minced or pressed
2 T fresh parsley, minced
1/2 tsp grated orange peel
4 (4-6 oz) halibut steaks
1/4 cup orange juice
1 T lemon juice
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp lemon-pepper seasoning

Saute onion and garlic until tender; remove from heat. Stir in parsley and orange peel. Place halibut in a 11x7x2 baking dish coated with cooking spray. Top with onion mixture. Combine orange and lemon juices; pour over fish. Sprinkly with salt and lemon-pepper. Cover and bake at 400 for 15-20 minutes or until fish flakes easily with a fork.
Yield: 4 servings

Nutrition facts (4.5 oz size): 202 calories, 4 g fat, 1 g saturated fat, 54 mg cholesterol, 270 mg sodium, 4 g carbohydrate, trace fiber, 36 g protein.
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My Review

• Preparation: 5
• Just a little chopping and a quick saute, put it all together and bake; easy!
• Taste: 3.5
• This was hard for me to determine. I loved the fish, I had never had halibut before. It is very mild and lean and I really liked it. The citrus flavor was present but light, just enough to make itself known. The onion mixture was good but something about it kind of made me want to scrape it off, which I did tonight when I had the leftovers. The flavor was good, I think it might just have something to do with the fact that we were both burping (eww, gross I know, sorry for the details. Don't worry, little burps, not nasty belches) the taste all evening.
• Cost: 1
• The only ingredients I had to buy were the orange juice, an orange, halibut and lemon-pepper. Halibut is a more expensive fish, the kind we got was about $11. With 3 servings (we only had 3 steaks, but I didn't really modify the recipe except reduce the onion) it comes out to about $5.00 per serving, not too great at all.
• Clean-up: 4
• I like to judge my dishes by the big items, the ones that don't fit nicely into my little dish rack. So I had 4; two cutting boards, a skillet, and a stone. Not too bad.
• Changes
• I have a garlic press (love it), so I always press my garlic instead of mince it. It saves me from stinky hands and it's way easier.
• I used dried parsley because I already had that. When substituting dried herbs for fresh, simply divide by three. This recipe called for 2 tablespoons (which is 6 teaspoons) so I used 2 teaspoons dried parsley. Another easy way is to just change tablespoons to teaspoons; 2 tablespoons fresh parsley equals 2 teaspoons dried parsley.
• I don't have an 11x7x2 inch dish, I didn't even know they existed. The point is to just use a dish with an edge so your liquid doesn't spill. So I used my 9x9 pampered chef stone.
• Summary
• This recipe was good, I just experienced some unpleasant aftermath for some reason. The onion mixture with the citrus flavor produces a surprisingly pleasant taste, and you can't go wrong with a good piece of fish. It is a very health-friendly dinner too. Enjoy!